Sarah, Plain and Tall The Home Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

I looked at the long dirt road that crawled across the plains, remembering the morning that Mama had died, cruel and sunny. They had come for her in a wagon and taken her away to be buried. And then the cousins and aunts and uncles had come and tried to fill up the house. But they couldn't. (1.20)

When Anna and Caleb's mother dies, their house is transformed from a home into a lifeless building. Even when a bunch of people show up to keep them company, they can't replace the warmth and love that made this house a home.

Quote #2

The dogs loved Sarah first. Lottie slept beside her bed, curled in a soft circle, and Nick leaned his face on the covers in the morning, watching for the first sign that Sarah was awake. No one knew where Seal slept. Seal was a roamer. (4.1)

Seal—in classic cat form—makes himself at home in the Witting house right away. And the dogs seem to accept the fact that Sarah is a part of their family and home now, even though she's just arrived. These critters are super adaptable, it seems.

Quote #3

"To pick flowers," said Sarah. "I'll hang some of them upside down and dry them so they'll keep some color. And we can have flowers all winter long."

"I'll come too!" cried Caleb. "Sarah said winter," he said to me. "That means Sarah will stay." (4.7-8)

Sarah's insistence on picking flowers and making the house pretty is definitely a good sign. Caleb and Anna hope this means Sarah wants to stay in their home as their new mother. Fingers crossed…