Caleb's Story [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Patricia MacLachlan (Author)

Book Description

Anna has done something terrible. She has given me her journal to fill.
In Anna's journal the words walk across the page like bird prints in the mud. But it is hard for me. It is hard for me to find things to write about."It's your job now," Anna says as she hands Caleb her journals, asking him to continue writing the family story. But Sarah, Jacob, Anna, Caleb, and their new little sister, Cassie, have already formed a family, and Caleb fears there will be nothing left to write about. But that is before Cassie discovers a mysterious old man in the barn and everything changes. Everyone is excited about the arrival of a new family member -- except for Jacob, who holds a bitter grudge. Only the special love of Caleb, and the gift he offers, can help to mend the pain of the past.

Caleb's Story continues the saga begun by the Newbery Medal-winning Sarah, Plain And Tall and its sequel, Skylark, spinning a tale of love, forgiveness, and the ties that bind a family together.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Taking over the reins from his sister Anna, who narrated Sarah, Plain and Tall and Skylark, Caleb describes the event in this heartwarming third installment, in which Jacob is reunited with his father. As the novel opens, readers meet Cassie, the baby whom Sarah carries in Skylark; the country is at war in Europe; and Anna leaves home to work for a doctor in town and gives Caleb the responsibility of recording the family events. While Jacob drives his older daughter to town, Cassie spots a man on the property. Thinking it's one of Cassie's imaginary friends, Caleb ignores her until he sees the man for himself. When Jacob returns, the mystery of the man's identity is revealed, and wounds from the past begin to slowly heal. In an uplifting subplot, Caleb discovers why Jacob's father did not correspond with his son all the years he was away and begins to set things right. The narrative cribs liberally from Anna's entries in Skylark, but fans of the first two books will enjoy learning more about this resourceful and loving family. Ages 8-10.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-In this third book in the series begun in Sarah, Plain and Tall (HarperCollins, 1985), Caleb is given the responsibility of writing down everything that happens on the farm now that his older sister Anna has gone to live in town to finish school. At first, he thinks there will be nothing to write about, but when an old man appears in the middle of winter, the family's quiet life is suddenly disrupted. The stranger turns out to be Caleb's grandfather, who left when the boy's father, Jacob, was young. While Jacob allows him to stay, he refuses to forgive or even speak to the man. Caleb slowly realizes that his grandfather is illiterate, and he teaches him how to read and write. It takes his efforts and a near-tragedy to reconcile the differences between the men. Readers who are new to the Witting family will quickly become acquainted with the events of the past through the excerpts of Anna's journals that Caleb shares with his grandfather. Despite some heavy elements, MacLachlan manages to provide some lighter moments and humor through Cassie, the baby who was about to be born at the end of Skylark (HarperCollins, 1994), and who is now a lively and inquisitive child. This is an excellent work of historical fiction, a satisfying sequel, and an inspiring tale about love and forgiveness.

Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605140473
• ISBN-13: 978-1605140476
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and to this day carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to remind her of what she knew first. She is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. She lives in western Massachusetts.

In Her Own Words..."One thing I've learned with age and parenting is that life comes in circles. Recently, I was having a bad time writing. I felt disconnected. I had moved to a new home and didn't feel grounded. The house, the land was unfamiliar to me. There was no garden yet. Why had I sold my old comfortable 1793 home? The one with the snakes in the basement, mice everywhere, no closets. I would miss the cold winter air that came in through the electrical sockets."

"I had to go this day to talk to a fourth-grade class, and I banged around the house, complaining. Hard to believe, since I am so mild mannered and pleasant, isn't it? What did I have to say to them? I thought what I always think when I enter a room of children. What do I know?"

"I plunged down the hillside and into town, where a group of fourth-grade children waited for me in the library, freshly scrubbed, expectant. Should I be surprised that what usually happens did so? We began to talk about place, our living landscapes. And I showed them my little bag of prairie dirt from where I was born. Quite simply, we never got off the subject of place. Should I have been so surprised that these young children were so concerned with place, or with the lack of it, their displacement? Five children were foster children, disconnected from their homes. One little boy's house had burned down, everything gone. 'Photographs, too,' he said sadly. Another told me that he was moving the next day to place he'd never been. I turned and saw the librarian, tears coming down her face."

"'You know,' I said. 'Maybe I should take this bag of prairie dirt and toss it into my new yard. I'll never live on the prairie again. I live here now. The two places could mix together that way!' 'No!' cried a boy from the back. 'Maybe the prairie dirt will blow away!' And then a little girl raised her hand. 'I think you should put that prairie dirt in a glass bowl in your window so that when you write you can see it all the time. So you can always see what you knew first.'"

"When I left the library, I went home to write. What You Know First owes much to the children of the Jackson Street School: the ones who love place and will never leave it, the ones who lost everything and have to begin again. I hope for them life comes in circles, too."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caleb's Story by Patricia MacLachlan, December 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Caleb's Story (Sarah, Plain and Tall) (Library Binding)

As a third grade teacher, I am always on the lookout for good literature for student reading or teacher read alouds. My class and I read together the first two books in this trilogy and I used Caleb's Story as a read aloud which I shared with my principal. We loved this poignant story from its opening pages to its final pages. The old characters come to life once again while the surprising introduction of some new characters give great insight into family life. Everyone could relate to one or more of the characters, they are realistic. Lessons on cause and effect, character traits and goals, predicting, and problem solving were ongoing. Class discussions were wonderful as this tale presents much to talk about. The fact that this book is told in a different voice from the first two, is an interesting change. Caleb, who didn't want to take his sister's place as the family historian, eventually continues the saga in his own journal. My class is writing to the author requesting that she continue the stories using Jacob and the new characters to tie some pieces together. Many of my students are reading it again. It is a beautiful chapter book and appropriate to read when studying the early prairie years of our country.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sarah, Plain and Tall and Skylark Sequel is Heartwarming, April 8, 2002

By 

B. Lynn Wynn "parus55" (Woodstock, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Caleb's Story (Sarah, Plain and Tall) (Hardcover)

Caleb's Story picks up where Skylark and Sarah, Plain and Tall leave off. For the countless readers who fell in love with Sarah as she learned to be a mother to Anna and Caleb, and a helpmeet for Jacob, this book is a wonderful addition. For the reader who lacks "Sarah background," Sarah comes from Maine to a prairie farm after responding to an ad placed by Jacob, who is looking for a woman to replace his recently deceased wife. While he is not necessarily looking for romance, Sarah and Jacob ultimately fall in love, and their next years as a family is chronicled in the sequel, Skylark.

In Caleb's Story, Anna leaves for town to help with victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918. A stranger is discovered in the barn, which turns out to be Jacob's estranged father, John. John wishes reconciliation with Jacob, who stubbornly continues to deny him the forgiveness he desires.

Journaling is a major theme in this book, making it a perfect companion to teaching the importance of recording events and feelings. Caleb picks up journaling for the family, a job which Anna had done until her departure. In trying to encourage Grandpa John to learn about the family he knew little of, Caleb offers the journals to him. Ultimately, in an extremely touching scene, Caleb presents Grandpa John his own journal, whereupon he learns that John never learned how to write.

What a touching story this is! A perfect read-aloud for the classroom (if the teacher can harden the heart enough not to cry!), students do not need to have a lot of background of the previous parts of the story. This reviewer found the characters believable; their reactions that John's arrival caused the family were extremely believable. MacLachlan's ability to convey emotions in an easy-to-understand way for intermediate readers makes this the perfect addition to any school or family library.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good third book in the series., September 20, 2001

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Caleb's Story (Sarah, Plain and Tall) (Hardcover)

It's been years since Sarah came to the prairie to marry Anna and Caleb Whitting's father and to be a mother to the children. There's now a new member of the family, four-year-old Cassie. Anna has moved to town to finish school and take a job while her sweetheart fights in World War I in Europe and the influenza epidemic rages. One cold, snowy winter day, little Cassie discovers a strange man behind the barn, a man that turns out to be the father who abandoned Jacob Witting so long ago, when he himself was just a child. Although Sarah tries to help Jacob forgive his father, and Caleb and Cassie try to make their grandfather feel at home, it may take a tragedy to bring the family back together. Readers of the first two books will love this, the third book in the Witting family saga. Highly recommended.