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Dorothea Graham Jensen
a book bubble about
A Buss From Lafayette Teacher’s Guide
Education & Reference
Author Insight
Visiting the Past
As a young reader, I loved nothing more than historical fiction. Luckily for me, some GREAT h.f. books came out when I was exactly the right age to read them. THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, THE SHERWOOD RING, CALICO CAPTIVE, etc. all appeared when I was in 8th grade or soon thereafter. I am certain that these books engendered the passion for history that impels me to write this kind of story myself. There is no question that embedding a compelling fictional plot within accurate events of the past (although tricky to do) actually does bring the past to life for young readers. To this day, when I visit the setting of a h.f. book I love, I get a thrill finding spots mentioned in the stories I read 60+ years ago. Last year I went to Quebec City for the first time. I spent much of my time there dragging my husband around to find places where the fictional Miriam Willard lived or worked when a captive there during the French and Indian Wars. It suddenly struck me that readers of A BUSS FROM LAFAYETTE might someday do the same kind of search in Hopkinton, my very own New Hampshire town, where this story is set.
Book Excerpt
A Buss From Lafayette Teacher’s Guide
Clara Hargraves, a witty, spunky, fourteen-year-old girl, has a couple of big problems: she has a new stepmother (who used to be her old maid schoolteacher aunt), and she has red hair (which means she is constantly teased). During the last week of June 1825, her small New Hampshire town is abuzz about the Revolutionary War hero Lafayette’s visit to the state. What she learns about him and from him just might show Clara that her problems are not quite so terrible after all.
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