Family
Family is a main theme of the book, Sarah Plain and Tall, because the whole story revolves around Sarah coming to live with them as a family. She decides to stay with Jacob, Anna, and Caleb because she loves them after getting to know them. She will be their wife and mother, so family is a main theme of this book.
Missing your past
Sarah aches for her old home by the sea when she comes to the open prairie. Throughout the book she misses the crashing, salty waves and sliding down the sand dunes. She is lonely out in the prairie even though she has Jacob, Anna, and Caleb. She cries and is sad that she doesn't have the sea by her side anymore. But, by the end she realizes that though she will always miss her old home she also realizes that she would miss Jacob, Anna, and Caleb more. So missing the past and her old home is quite a significant theme in the book.
The sea
The sea is another theme of the book because Sarah comes from the sea. She used to live by the sea and loves it very much. She also has to make the decision whether to leave it and move to the prairie, or to stay. The sea is a very significant part of Sarah's life, so it becomes a significant part of the book.
Hope
Hope is a theme of the book because when Sarah initially writes a letter responding to Jacob's ad, it gives Jacob, Anna, and Caleb hope that they will have a wife and mother again. And then when she decides to stay they have hope that their future will be brighter because Sarah will be there.
Singing
Singing is a theme of the book because Anna and Caleb's late mother and used to sing everyday with her husband, Jacob. But now Jacob never sings. So when Sarah writes that she can sing, they are cheered, for maybe when she comes, Jacob will sing more often. She teaches them a song about the coming of summer and buys a book of songs to teach them.
Mothers
Anna and Caleb's mother has passed on, so they are missing a mother in their life. However, Sarah may become their mother figure and care for them as a mother would, so mother's become a central part of the story.
