Bibliography
Books to Help Build Background
Anderson, William. Laura’s Album: A Remembrance Scrapbook of Laura Ingalls Wilder. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
This book includes stories from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life and her literary career.
Anderson, William. Prairie Girl: The life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.
This is a biographical account of Laura Ingalls Wilder from her Wisconsin childhood until her death.
Brenner, Barbara. One Small Place By the Sea. China: Harper Collins, 2004.
This is a story about cycles and change at the edge of the sea. This book also discusses the plants and animals that live in the ocean.
Catchpole, Dr. Clive. Grasslands: The Living World. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1984.
This book describes the climate and characteristics of the world’s grasslands.
Collins, Carolyn and Eriksson, Christine. Inside Laura’s Little House. New York: Harper and Collins, 2000.
This is a historical and biographical account of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which includes traditional songs, crafts, and recipes of her time period.
Conrad, Pam. Prairie Visions: The life and times of Solomon Butcher. New York: Holiday House, 1991.
This is a biographical account through pictures and stories of Solomon Butcher, who lived on the Nebraska prairie during the turn of the century.
Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About Pioneers. New York: Harper and Collins, 2003
This book includes information pioneer life from early settlement in the east to later settlement in the west.
DePaola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. New York: Putnam Publishing Group, 1988.
This is a legend of a prairie plant as told by Little Gopher, a Native American.
Hines, Anna G. Pieces: A Year In Poems and Quilts. Hong Kong: Greenwillow Books, 2001.
This book of poetry describes the four seasons and includes beautiful pictures of quilts. (This book can also be used in color poetry for the poem about green).
Kent, Deborah. Maine. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1989.
This book describes the geography, history, and natural resources of Maine.
Lerner, Carol. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1980.
This book describes the plant life on the prairie during all seasons and the role of wild fires in prairie ecology.
Levine, Ellen. If You Traveled West In a Covered Wagon. New York: Scholastic, 1986.
This book helps explain the challenges of traveling west in a covered wagon. It also includes information about the different routes that were traveled west and encounters with Native Americans.
Master, Nancy R. Kansas. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1999.
This book describes the geography, history, and natural resources of Kansas.
Patent, Dorothy H. Prairies. New York: Holiday House, 1996.
Prairies describes the characteristics of prairies, including plants and animals. Some other topics that are included in this book are: sod houses, windmills, and prairie conservation.
Sayre, April P. Seashore. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.
This book describes the characteristics of the seashore including plants, animals, and the impact of humans.
Books for Language Chart Activities
Brenner, Barbara. Wagon Wheels. New York: Harper Trophy, 1978.
Wagon Wheels is a historical fiction chapter book about the Muldie family’s struggles on the prairie. After the Civil War, this black family travels to Kansas for the free land provided by the Homesteading Act.
Green, Phyllis. A New Mother for Martha. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1978.
In this story, a first grade girl insists that her dead mother will return. Martha eventually must accept her mother’s death when her father marries a new woman.
Kaplan, Howard. Waiting to Sing. New York: Dorling Kinersley Publishing, 2000.
This story is about a family that loves music. When the mother of the family dies, music comforts them in the time of their grief.
Kurtz, Jane. Pulling the Lion’s Tail. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995
Almaz and her father live in Ethiopia. Almaz unexpectedly looses her mother and her father remarries. Almaz’s grandfather comes up with a way the help her get to know her new step-mother.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Baby. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993.
In this story, a family must cope with the loss of a child. Larkin, discovers an abandoned child which helps the family heal after their loss.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Caleb’s Story. New York: Joanna Cotler Books, 2001
This story is third in a continuation of Sarah, Plain and Tall. This novel is told from Caleb’s point-of-view. Caleb’s grandfather shows up after many years and forces Jacob, Caleb’s father, to deal with the past.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Cassie Binegar. New York: Harper and Row, 1982.
Cassie is spending her first summer in a new place by the sea. Cassie must learn to find a place where she fits in and accept change.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Journey. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999.
Two children must live with their grandparents when their mother leaves them. Journey searchers for reasons why his mother left but learns a valuable lesson from his grandfather.
Maclachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Joanna Cotler Books, 1985.
This is an account of a family living on the Kansas prairie during the 1880s. The Wittings loose their wife/mother and place an ad in a newspaper for a new wife/mother.
Turner, Ann. Mississippi Mud. New York: Harper Collins, 1997.
This book includes a collection of poems from three different children within the same family. These poems describe a family’s journey west from Kentucky to Oregon.
Wallner, Alexandra. Laura Ingalls Wilder. New York: Holiday House, 1997
This is a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder that describes her experience of growing up on the prairie, which helped prepare her to write her famous novels.
Warren, Andrea. Pioneer Girl:Growing Up On The Prairie. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1998.
This biography is about Grace McNance, a pioneer girl who grew up on the Nebraska prairie.
Teacher Resource
Manning, Dee. Sarah, Plain and Tall Unit Guide. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt, 1993.
Books for Color Poetry
Nordine, Ken. Colors. New York: Harcourt, 2000.
This is a book of poetry about the personalities of color, which uses a variety of other words for basic colors.
O’Neill, Mary. Hailstones and Halibut Bones. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1961.
This is a book of poetry about color. The author brings colors to life and helps the reader gain a different perspective of color using all of the senses.
Rossetti, Christinia. What is Pink? New York: The Macmillian Company, 1971.
In this book of color poetry, a young flamingo asks his mother questions about color.
Suess, Dr. My Colored Days. New York: Alfred A. Knoph, 1991.
This is a rhyming story in which each day has a different color and feeling.
Multimedia Sources
Little House on the Prairie the Premiere Movie. Dir. Alf Kjellin and Victor Lovl. With Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson. Goodtimes Home Video, 2001.
This movie is about the Ingalls family’s move from Wisconsin and the struggles they face in the process.
My Many Colored Days. Studio Blackboard Entertainment, 1999.
This is the video about the book by Dr. Seuss.
Sarah, Plain and Tall. Dir. Jordan Glen. With Glen Close and Christopher Walkin. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 2003.
This is the Hollywood version of Patricia Maclachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall.
Seeger, Pete. American Favorite Ballads #1. Smithsonian Folkways. September 23, 1997.
This music includes a variety of traditional songs that were sung during the time period which Sarah, Plain and Tall is set.
All of the following websites are for the prairie/ocean animal research:
Jackrabbits
Pronghorns
Buffalo/Bison
Hawk
Fox
Prairie Dogs
Salmon
Dolphin
Starfish
Lobster
Octopus
Crab
General Animal Information