2020 Royal Dragonfly Awards: 2nd place in historical nonfiction and honorable mention in young adult nonfiction. 2020 Independent Authors Network Awards: Finalist in history nonfiction and young adult nonfiction.
Inspired by the Broadway hit, HAMILTON, and by Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," author Dorothea Jensen wrote this short rhyming narrative about the Marquis de Lafayette and his crucial role in our Revolutionary War.
A glossary and extensive endnotes supply further information about the historical figures and events mentioned in the poem. This playful historical account is aimed at young and older adults who are HAMILTON fans. (It tells what Lafayette did for us that GUNS and SHIPS left out!)
It would be entertaining and educational to perform in a classroom or other settings, such as events celebrating the upcoming bicentennial of Lafayette's 1824-5 Farewell Tour of America.
Dorothea Jensen is proud to be one of a very few people who has boarded a pirate ship and attacked a Viking vessel manned by real Vikings wearing horns and furs. She was born in Boston, but grew up in Chillicothe, Illinois, site of the Viking adventure. She then earned a BA in English from Carleton College and an MA in Secondary Education from the University of New Mexico. She has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South America, taught middle and high school English, tutored refugees in ESL, written grant proposals for various arts organizations, written a play performed in Noh style, and raised three children.
Her first historical novel for young readers, THE RIDDLE OF PENNCROFT FARM, has been used in classrooms for many years as an enrichment resource for kids studying the American Revolution. Her next novel, A BUSS FROM LAFAYETTE, is set in 1825 in the small town in New Hampshire where she has lived since 1991.
Dorothea also writes modern Christmas stories in verse. Modeled on the 19th century classic poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas", these award-winning Santa's Izzy Elves story poems feature decidedly 21st century elves savvy in modern technology.
So originally I wrote this as "we'd still be lowly subjects of the Brit autocracy." My fact checker took issue with this, saying that the the 18th century British government wasn't really an autocracy. Hmm. I argued that with George III handing out honors so he controlled Parliament, maybe it could be CALLED an autocracy But no. Hmm. Then I thought for days about how to end the line. You would not believe how long it took me to realize the British monarchy scans the same as Brit autocracy. Duh. It finally popped into my head. Go figure.
Book Excerpt
Liberty-Loving Lafayette: How
Without his help, we might have lost our fight for Liberty,
And we’d still be lowly subjects of the British monarchy!
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