Synopses & Reviews
Cassie spends her days watching Grandfather and Caleb in the barn, looking out at Papa working the fields, spying on Sarah feeding the goslings. She s an observer, a writer, a story teller. But just when Cassie thinks her world is complete, she learns that things are about to change. Something new is expected on the prairie, and Sarah says it will be the perfect gift. Cassie isn t so sure. But just like life changes, however, people change too. And Cassie learns that additions don t always mean sacrifices, especially when it comes to love. The Newbery Medal-winning Sarah, Plain and Tall began the Witting family s saga on the prairie early in the century. Followed by Skylark, Caleb s Story, and now More Perfect Than the Moon, the classic tale lives on in Patricia MacLachlan s signature, lyrical style.
Synopsis
The saga that begun in the Newbery Medal-winning "Sarah, Plain and Tall" continues with this story of young Cassie. She's an observer, a writer, and a storyteller. But just when she thinks her world is complete, Cassie learns that things are about to change.
Synopsis
The beloved story of
Sarah, Plain and Tall continues
Cassie is an observer, a writer, a storyteller. And for her, life is as it should be. But change is inevitable, even on the prairie. Something new is expected, and Sarah says it will be the perfect gift. Cassie isn't so sure. But just like life changes, people change too, and Cassie learns that unexpected surprises can bring great joy. more perfect than the moon invites us back to the Witting family farm, first visited in the Newbery Medalwinning sarah, plain and tall. With her lyrical prose Patricia MacLachlan writes about a familys boundless capacity for love.
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."