Homespun Sarah

by Verla Kay, Ted Rand (Illustrator)

Simple rhyming text presents the everyday life of a young girl, living on a Pennsylvania farm in the early eighteenth century, who is quickly outgrowing her dress.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Poetry, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, American History, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Verla Kay is passionate about her writing and she loves cooking, playing computer games that have lots of puzzles in them to be solved and she also plays a lot of board, dice and card games with her family and friends (especially pinochle). She lives in a tiny town in eastern Washington, close to Spokane and the Idaho border with her husband of over 55 years and two long-haired Himalayan cats. Family is very important to her and she has four grown children (one married), four grown grandchildren (two married) and five great grandchildren that range in age from six to thirteen, most of whom live within visiting distance from her. She has previously had eleven historical picture books published, ten of them by Putnam. Wings Forever is her first self-published book and she is VERY proud of it! Visit Verla at: https://verlakay.com

Reviews

[RPBYS]

Another great book from Verla Kay. Tight rhyming verses paired with evocative, homey watercolor illustrations. Adults can use the author's note in the beginning as an extension activity to talk to children/students about "the olden days." (Not owned by RPB; put on hold.)

[Hannah Benham]

Awards: None

Appropriate Grade Level: Pre-K to First

Review: This fun rhythmic book was a nice look into the eighteenth century. Although it did not seem to follow much of a plot, it was still a nice read.

Reaction: I thought this book was a fun way to explore both history and phonemic awareness (rhyming). Although it was a little boring, I did like the concept!

In-Class Use:

1) This book could be an introduction to an older way of life where people did not have the convenience of buying clothes from the store or drinking from a Brita Filter.
2) This book can be used to emphasize phonemic awareness skills when it comes to rhyming.

[Jacelyn Neuleib]

I have never read a historical fiction book which was aimed at lower elementary age student's like this before so it was great for me to experience how that looks. This book would be an excellent way to introduce past ways of living to young students, and the style of writing would easily allow students to physically experience what Sarah is experiencing. The reader will get to hear, smell, taste, and feel what Sarah experiences waking up and living her life in a provincial homestead in the early 1800's. Sarah outgrows her homemade dress and the reader learns about the entire process involved with making her a new, homespun dress.

[Andria Davis]

This book is about a girl named Sarah and her family's daily life in the 1700s. It is written in short verses that rhyme and goes through her day, from the types of clothes she wears to bed to the chores she does on the farm and in the house to her mother sewing her clothes.

I liked this book because it really depicts the kind of lifestyle the characters had during this time. The words are easy to understand and written in a way beginning readers would also be able to read them. The pictures were detailed enough that you could see the differences between then and now.

(Historical Fiction)

[Kynleah Bancroft]

Homespun Sarah is a story about a young girl's life during colonial times. This story describes her daily life and her problem when she grows out of her one and only dress. The illustrations in this story make the story easier to understand and allow you to understand what is required of Sarah. This story would be great for early elementary school students because of the simple rhyming and detailed watercolor illustrations. This would be a great story to educate children about the differences between life today in comparison to the 1700’s.

[Maddie Mcdermott]

Homespun Sarah is a fun, creative, has rhyming, and is a historic book. This book is about a young girl living in Pennsylvania on a farm in the eighteenth century. Sarah and her family have to raise, grow, and make everything they have. This book is enjoyable and teaches kids good life lessons. I would recommend it to any teacher or parent for their students/kids.

[Charlie]

Elliott picked this out at the library. It's a little over her age range, but she's a smart 2 year old. By the third read-through, she enjoyed it, especially the twirling dress at the end.

Some of the images are scary for little ones (people's faces, in particular).

[Shari]

Lovely rhyming verse about the life of a young girl in the colonial period. Authors note in the beginning of story is particularly helpful and interesting.

[Dan Blackley]

This is about a colonial girl.

[Kristen DeChaine]

Great for elementary aged children learning about pioneer days.

[Child960801]

Simple rhyming text that shows what life was like for a child in Pennsylvania in the 1700s.

[Dolly]

This is a fun and educational story about life in the 1700s in early colonial times. The rhyming narrative and colorful illustrations depict the various facets of day-to-day life and the difficulties experienced by early settlers. I like that the story of the young girl outgrowing the one dress she has is woven throughout the tale we really liked the ending. Our youngest could emphathize with the younger sister getting hand-me-downs from her older sister. We found this book at our local library on a shelf of books about life in America, in celebration of Independence Day. We all learned a little more about life in those times and enjoyed reading this book together.

[Shawna]

This book that gives the chilren a fairly accurate depiction of what living in the the West was like could be used in so many ways. You could use it with any Social Studies unit as a poetry extension or a short way to show how hard it was to live and take care of the farms. It could used along with Traveling trunks and the National Park Trunks you could also use it in conjuntion with a lesson on how working hard and the benefits of it (the dress).

[Kathryn]

I love how Kay subverts sentence structure, often switching the predicate and subject, and that though fragmented, each sentence has distinct meaning. She also almost always flips the tag by putting the speaker tag before the dialogue, which I love because it goes against everything you're taught about creative writing. She breaks every rule, but she does it so well you don't even notice (unless you're looking for it).

[Robin]

One of my favorite historical fiction picture books. Simple and delightful, without glossing things over too much. Lively watercolors by Rand add a lot of character and period detail. Highly recommended for ages 4-7.

[Amy!]

My review here.

[Katie]

poem, rhyme, flowing good word choice

[Courtney Bemiller]

Very good descriptions of Pioneers and their lifestyle

[Lorena]

I like the verse. It's very simple.

[Melanie]

Loved the poetry and the illustrations in this story about a pioneer girl.

[Shannon]

This was my 6 year old's favorite of the books we read about Colonial America. I love how it showed how much work goes into creating a new dress.

[Melissa]

I love Ted Rand, the illustrator, and I can't believe the author made the whole thing rhyme! I learned something and had fun reading it aloud. A great book!

[Nathan]

Dated, but people still live this way.