Cover of Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall

by Patricia MacLachlan

Among the most widely assigned — 5 curriculum lists · 2 states

On reading-award lists:Newbery MedalGolden Kite AwardCharlie May Simon Children's Book AwardScott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan is assigned in US schools at grades 3–5, with a Lexile measure of 660L. It appears across 5 curriculum references and 2 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Sarah, Plain and Tall is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

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Lexile
660L
Grade range
Grades 3–5
Difficulty for grade
Within the grade 2–3 band (420–820L)
Age range
Ages 8–11
Pages
58
Reading time
about 1h 5m (est.)
First published
1985
Genre
Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)
ISBN-13
9780064402057

Reading difficulty: At 660L, Sarah, Plain and Tall falls within the typical 420–820L text-complexity range for 3rd grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.

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About this book

Two children on a prairie farm in the 1890s anxiously wait to meet Sarah, the woman who has answered their widowed father's newspaper ad for a wife. MacLachlan's Newbery Medal novella is a near-universal 3rd-5th grade assignment and Common Core Appendix B exemplar.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Sarah, Plain and Tall→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Historical Fiction (Middle Grade) title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 3–5. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on family and loss; cited across 5 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

family · loss · new beginnings · prairie life

Content notes

references to a parent's death

Common Sense Media recommends age 7+.

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Sarah, Plain and Tall?
Sarah, Plain and Tall is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–5, with a Lexile measure of 660L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
What is the Lexile level of Sarah, Plain and Tall?
Sarah, Plain and Tall has a Lexile measure of 660L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
How long does it take to read Sarah, Plain and Tall?
It takes about 1h 5m to read Sarah, Plain and Tall (58 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 65 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
Is Sarah, Plain and Tall hard to read for 3rd grade?
At 660L, Sarah, Plain and Tall falls within the typical 420–820L text-complexity range for 3rd grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
What curricula assign Sarah, Plain and Tall?
Sarah, Plain and Tall appears on reading lists for Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, Common Core State Standards (ELA), Golden Kite Award, and 2 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
660L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
Grade band
Grades 3–5 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 5 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 2 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner, book-club, read-aloud.

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