Skylark

Horn Book

Skylark is one sequel that is as successful as the original.

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

Patricia MacLachlan is a master at creating atmosphere in a story. In Skylark, drought is devastating their land and Sarah and Jacob agree that she return to Maine with Anna and Caleb. The children enjoy the rugged seacoast and like Sarah's family, but they miss their father and their home. This family has written their name in that prairie land and they must return. Just as in Sarah, Plain and Tall, MacLachlan's style is terse, poetic and underscored with deep feelings for her characters. 1995 (orig.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Newbery-award winning author Patricia MacLachlan has often included older protagonists in her books. The aunts, many times referred to in Newbery-award winning Sarah Plain and Tall, are actual characters in the sequel, Skylark. When Sarah, Anna and Caleb leave the prairie to escape the sorrows of drought, they are in need of much nurturing. To be sure, the three aunts they stay with are a source of nurture and security, but they are first individuals. Lou wears hip boots and skinny dips, and even Mattie who dresses in silk always has bare feet. It's an older generation that escapes stereotyping. "A lot of times in books," MacLachlan says, " I have seen older people portrayed as fools, or foolish people. I think that's a little cliched and I knew I wanted to do something different. I'm not quite sure where the aunts came from, but I like them. If you go up into New England, or down South or out on the prairie, you're going to find people like them... honest, individual and eccentric people." MacLachlan offers the young older heroines who model a sureness and belief in their individuality. The children in Skylark, Caleb and Anna find strength and support in this very quality.