Sarah and the People of Sand River

Raised by her Icelandic-speaking father in a remote part of Lake Winnipeg in the early 1900s, motherless Sarah is sent to the city when she turns 12. She is supposed to be learning English, but, entrusted to the care of ruthless Mrs. Simpson, she becomes a virtual slave. Roundly abused at every turn, Sarah's treatment makes Sara Crewe's stay with Miss Minchin look like a visit to Canyon Ranch. But kind strangers intervene; they turn out to be the ghosts of Cree Indians whom Sarah's emigrant grandparents nursed during a deadly smallpox epidemic some 40 years before. The incarnation of romanticized suffering, Sarah may well attract fans of A Little Princess, who at the same time will be treated to a bit of Canadian history. Wallace's (Very Last First Time) delicate, somber watercolors underscore the plaintive tone. Working in a subdued, pale palette, he diffuses the harshness of the heroine's experiences in a rush of gentle light. Ages 6-8. (Sept.)