Book Launch Party: What Larks!

 Here are a few pictures from the book launch party we had for A Buss from Lafayette on Friday, April 22. I'd never been to or organized such a thing before, so I just included activities that I enjoy myself: talking, singing, dancing, costumes and music!

"We had a lot of fun.  Thank you for creating such a warm and inviting event," said one father who attended the party with his kids.

Here’s an audio recording (with illuminating pix) of the Launch Party Presentation , featuring a short talk about my inspirations for the story, a few excerpts read aloud, singing, fiddling, and a Virginia Reel!


Ready for the presentation!
Here I am with my  Trusted Sidekick, Sienna Larson (left), and her daughter, Sara (right).














Before the presentation, Sienna and Sara Larson entertained the crowd with fiddle tunes – many from the story!







My son, Nate Jensen, and his son, Stuart, manned the reception table!













We had a “dress-up corner”, where children could try on clothes in the style of the early 1800s, the time  in which A Buss from Lafayette takes place. Here is Kelly Arnold posing elegantly in front of the Buss poster












And here is Kelly and her mobcapped younger sister Shannon.

Thanks so much for coming to my party, girls!















We also had a table with word games from Buss and coloring pages and paper “action figures” from the Izzy Elf books.














Here is the very special Buss  from Lafayette cake for the party. (No one wanted to eat the part with Lafayette and Clara on it. Interesting.)











An appropriate backdrop: a quilt with scenes from Hopkinton, NH, where the story is set.








The set-up: poster and copies of A Buss from Lafayette for sale. We also had free copies of the Buss reading guide (which can also be downloaded free from this website), bookmarks, postcards, and brochures.












My husband and I at the launch party. Good times!














There was also a display of items I wrote about in A Buss from Lafayette, along with printed quotes from the story mentioning each of these items. (Pantalettes, a pocket, an embroidery sampler, a “betsy” ruff, a mob cap, cone-shaped sugar loaf, several fans, etc.) Pictures of Lafayette, young and old, were also on display.













School Slate Board and Pencil















Cone-Shaped Sugar Loaf


















Goody Two Shoes
















 Embroidery Sampler











Accompanied by Sienna and Sara, I sang a couple of verses of the song in which New Hampshire was first called “The Granite State”, written for the June 22, 1825 Concord, NH, reception in Lafayette’s honor. Sienna and Sara accompanied me. (The full lyrics are posted on this website on the “Granite State Lyrics” page.)












My two grandsons helped with the raffle drawing. The prizes were two copies of  A Buss from Lafayette and a mug with the Buss cover on it. (Notice that both my grandson, Drake, and I have our eyes closed for the drawing, for an admirably fair and impartial selection!)













After the raffle,  I invited audience members to join me in getting a taste of the era of A Buss from Lafayette by dancing a Virginia Reel.  These pix are of the “core group” of my friends who demonstrated the steps first. Later, half the audience ended up dancing, the other half whooped and clapped! (To hear the music and a whoop or two, click on this link: audio recording


It was a wonderful party. I am so grateful to everyone who helped me with the event, and to everyone who came and joined in the merrymaking!

Another Great Review: Keep Those Interruptions Coming!

I have been trying to post an audio file of my Book Launch Party presentation, and I keep get interrupted by the arrival of fabulous new reviews.  What a wonderful problem to have!  Here's the latest, from Bookworm For Kids. Thank you so much for this lovely review!

* * *

This lovely jaunt into the year 1825 has nothing to do with dusty history books, but rather, brings to life the less known history of General Lafayette through the eyes of a spunky girl. 

Clara is a 13/14 year old girl, who's still coming to terms with the death of her mother, quick marriage of her father to her aunt and the fast approaching birth of her half-sister. Add her strong dislike for her red hair, a pesky brother and the horrid idea that she should give up the most fun aspects of life and become more 'lady-like', and her world seems miserable. Her clever wit and slightly rebellious attitude make her easy to love, especially since her thoughts and feelings are often justified and understandable. Teenage girls will have no problem relating to her troubles, and through Clara, they can realize that girls from that time frame weren't necessarily so different from girls today.

The author does a marvelous job bringing the past to life. There's just enough details and explanations to make the lifestyle, habits and expectations from that time clear while keeping everything familiar enough that readers can relate to the characters. More unknown terms and items are explained in a way which doesn't break the flow of the story. At the end of the book, there's glossary to help out too.

General Lafayette's role in American history is expertly woven into Clara's life. The important events are relayed through her conversations with various characters in different situations. A little humor and tidbits from the time period are thrown in at the same time, helping to keep the 'tales' broken up and refreshing. There were a few moments where one or two recounts of Lafayette's important moments stretched out a little long, but in general, they were interesting.

Although this isn't an action book, the pace holds nicely. Clara finds herself in one predicament after the other as she tries to come to terms with those around her. There's a little romance involved and some tough rivalries in the area of friendship--those same things which teenagers face today. 

Summed up, this is a marvelous historical fiction story. The characters are kept true to their time frame while, at the same time, are portrayed in a way modern day teens will have no trouble relating to. The 'history lesson' glides effortlessly into the main plot, insuring an educational delight. This is one YA historical fiction, I can highly recommend.

All I can say is WOW!!!!

 Newest Amazon Review of A Buss from Lafayette!


5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful coming of age story that also happens to have great historical value too!

By Mami Tales on April 24, 2016

Format: Paperback

I drank this novel like water, and loved the depth in all the characters as well as the historical detail. I got emotionally invested in Clara and her problems, which made the book about her, with the historical aspect of the novel more as a frame of reference than an end. Also, the love story and all the changes that the lead character is going through internally (a girl turning into a woman) made it very relatable. The romantic aspect of the story will be a big plus for young teen girls who are going through the same hormonal soup, as an extra layer to this novel. The prose of Ms. Jensen is vivid and very rich, making it easy to recreate the whole period of time in my mind. This is a great way to get younger tweens and early teens to LIVE the history of the American Revolution, instead of just learning the facts about it. I recommend this novel wholeheartedly to anyone who loves historical novels.

Only 24 Hours to Go!!!!

Come join the fun!

Book Launch Party for
A Buss from Lafayette!
 

When:   Friday, April 22 @ 5:30-7 p.m.

Where:  Hopkinton Town Library,

61 Houston Dr., Contoocook, NH

              Telephone 603-746-3663.

Admission: Free

Brings History to Life!!! (Music to My Ears)

"Dorothea Jensen brings history to life in this vibrant coming-of-age story about a young girl, Clara Hargraves, who is living in the time of the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution and General Lafayette's farewell tour. What is history for us was current events for the people of that time and Jensen skillfully tells it like that. She describes hammering chips off a pound-sized block of sugar and making strawberry jam with ready-made syrup from the West Indies. Much of the history is learned through conversations that flow naturally. The characters are engaging and I enjoyed the sibling rivalry between clever Clara and her competent brother, Joss. There's also a bit of young love by a certain admirer amidst all of the shenanigans.

I highly recommend this historical novel for all middle grade and young adult readers."
                                                                                 - Christina Morley, Amanda's Books and More Blog

Better and Better!

So the person who wrote the great review on the I Read What You Write blog posted it on Goodreads with a 5 star rating! And now I know her name!

Thank you, Michelle Perry!

Michelle Perry's Reviews > A Buss from Lafayette

A Buss from Lafayette
by Dorothea Jensen (Goodreads Author)

Michelle Perry's review

Apr 14, 16

it was amazing

bookshelves: historical, middle-grade, blogged-about

Read in April, 2016

In this coming age novel, Clara Hargraves must come to terms with a step mother she feels is trying to take her dead mother’s place, her flaming red hair that draws attention and teasing, and just being a 14 year old girl.

The book takes place in 1825 and as the title suggests, central to the story is the tour of The States by revolutionary War Hero, General Lafayette. While Clara navigates the inevitable and timeless pitfalls of being a 14 year old, the world around her is a buzz with Lafayette’s tour stops. It seems that where ever she goes the adults are discussing him and his contribution to the Revolutionary War. Against that canvas Clara gets to learn a few things about life not always being what it seems. Maybe her Evil Stepmother/Aunt isn’t the villain Clara would like to believe. Maybe her hateful “perfect’ cousin isn’t so perfect after all. And that boy who has been teasing her mercilessly for years, well just maybe he isn’t so bad either. An unexpected meeting will change her perspective on herself and her family.

Middle grade girls will immediately identify and relate with Clara. Despite the historical time gap, Clara’s life isn’t so different from theirs; Chores, boys, growing womanhood and greater responsibilities. Meanwhile, without even realizing it they will pick up an excellent education on the primary figures of the American Revolution, as well what life was like for kids their age in the early 1800’s. For that reason, I believe in a classroom setting this book would also appeal to middle grade boys.

Amazing Numbers!

My goodness! The total number of "hits" on my Bublish page reached 25,000 today. If you add in the rest of my online hits, that makes the total well over *****!!!! 98,000 !!!!!!******

I only have one question.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?????

Another Great Review for BUSS!!!

"In this coming [of] age novel, Clara Hargraves must come to terms with a step mother she feels is trying to take her dead mother’s place, her flaming red hair that draws attention and teasing, and just being a 14 year old girl.

The book takes place in 1825 and as the title suggests, central to the story is the tour of The States by revolutionary War Hero, General Lafayette. While Clara navigates the inevitable and timeless pitfalls of being a 14 year old, the world around her is a buzz with Lafayette’s tour stops. It seems that where ever she goes the adults are discussing him and his contribution to the Revolutionary War. Against that canvas Clara gets to learn a few things about life not always being what it seems. Maybe her Evil Stepmother/Aunt isn’t the villain Clara would like to believe. Maybe her hateful “perfect’ cousin isn’t so perfect after all. And that boy who has been teasing her mercilessly for years, well just maybe he isn’t so bad either. An unexpected meeting will change her perspective on herself and her family.

Middle grade girls will immediately identify and relate with Clara. Despite the historical time gap, Clara’s life isn’t so different from theirs; Chores, boys, growing womanhood and greater responsibilities. Meanwhile, without even realizing it they will pick up an excellent education on the primary figures of the American Revolution, as well what life was like for kids their age in the early 1800’s. For that reason, I believe in a classroom setting this book would also appeal to middle grade boys." - I Read What You Write Blog

Free Reading Guide for A BUSS FROM LAFAYETTE!

It took awhile to figure out how to post this here, but now I am happy to present a free reading guide to use with  A Buss from Lafayette, created by Sienna Larson and myself.

A Buss from Lafayette can be enjoyed read aloud in a classroom, read in small groups, and, of course, read individually. The story presents a lot of information about:   1)  the American Revolution,   2)  the key role General Lafayette played in achieving independence,  3)  our nation’s “rock star” reception of the aging hero during his Farewell Tour of 1824-5, and,  4)  American life in the early 19th century.

Many questions and activities regarding these subjects are presented in the guide to use with the book. Links are included that can access a wealth of additional information to further understanding and to bring the text alive with photos, discussions, and videos.

Please share your thoughts, questions, or additional ideas for activities to engage readers of this book by e-mailing the author at jensendorothea@gmail.com. (Reviews are always welcome, too!)

Below is the link for downloading this pdf:

Downloadable Reading Guide

Enjoy!

A Cool New E-Tool! (Maybe)

So I kept seeing the word "embed" on various websites I maintain, but never knew what it meant, exactly.  So today I took a closer look at what it is, and I just MIGHT have figured out how to do it!

Let's see.  Here I am trying to embed one of my book "bubbles" - background information/inspiration insights about something in one of my publications.

Here goes. (Rats. It keeps disappearing every time I publish this post!  Aaargh.



Hmmm not sure that is doing what it is supposed to. I'll have to publish it to see if anyone can read it. (It's times like this that I feel every single decade of my age.)

Oh, I see.  You put your arrow thing inside the square and swoop down, then click on the triangle to open the text. Then do the same for the excerpt it refers to.

I don't know. Is this worth the effort??  Or should I just put in a good old-fashioned hyperlink. (I can't believe I just said that: seems oxmoronic somehow.)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this.

If it's too annoying to look at this way, please go to (wait for it. . . ) yes, this hyperlink.)

Regards,

Dorothea

Woo hoo! A new review!

I just found a lovely new review on Goodreads.com.

Thank you, Readnride!

 

Readnride's review

Apr 07, 16

Rating: really liked it

As a fan of The Riddle of Penncroft Farm, I was hoping A Buss From Lafayette would be as good, and it is! The characters really came to life for me and the story moved along at a good pace. The heroine, Clara, has some of the same issues as girls of today, even though she’s living almost 200 years ago! Historical fiction fans will enjoy this book, especially as it was based upon a real historical event, General Lafayette’s visit to New Hampshire. I found the glossary helpful and informative. Read it...You'll be glad you did!

Louisa May Alcott's Description of Lafayette's 1825 Visit

I read Louisa May Alcott's book, A Old-Fashioned Girl, for the first time about sixty years ago, and never forgot the following passage.  (It might be one reason I ended up writing my own book about Lafayette's Farewell Tour.) I am putting this into my blog because I suspect this book is seldom read by boys, so half the reading population has never seen it.  (Anyway, it is now in the public domain, so I can do this legally.)  

I vaguely remember reading that this account was likely based on something that actually happened in Alcott's family, although I can't find anything about this online.

In this excerpt, in about 1870 a grandmother is telling her grandchildren and their friend, Polly (the Old-Fashioned Girl herself) about meeting Lafayette when she was a young woman.

* * *

"The time when I saw Lafayette was in 1825, and there were no tipsy counts then. Uncle Hancock (a sweet man, my dears, though some call him mean now-a-days) was dead, and aunt had married Captain Scott.

"It was not at all the thing for her to do; however, that 's neither here nor there. She was living in Federal Street at the time, a most aristocratic street then, children, and we lived close by.

"Old Josiah Quincy was mayor of the city, and he sent aunt word that the Marquis Lafayette wished to pay his respects to her.

"Of course she was delighted, and we all flew about to make ready for him. Aunt was an old lady, but she made a grand toilet, and was as anxious to look well as any girl."

"What did she wear?" asked Fan, with interest.

 "She wore a steel-colored satin, trimmed with black lace, and on her cap was pinned a Lafayette badge of white satin.

"I never shall forget how b-e-a-utifully she looked as she sat in state on the front parlor sophy, right under a great portrait of her first husband; and on either side of her sat Madam Storer and Madam Williams, elegant to behold, in their stiff silks, rich lace, and stately turbans. We don't see such splendid old ladies now-a-days."

"I think we do sometimes," said Polly, slyly.

Grandma shook her head, but it pleased her very much to be admired, for she had been a beauty in her day.

"We girls had dressed the house with flowers; old Mr. Coolidge sent in a clothes-basket full. Joe Joy provided the badges, and aunt got out some of the Revolutionary wine from the old Beacon Street cellar.

 "I wore my green and white palmyrine, my hair bowed high, the beautiful leg-o'-mutton sleeves that were so becoming, and these very gloves.

"Well, by-and-by the General, escorted by the Mayor, drove up. Dear me, I see him now! a little old man in nankeen trousers and vest, a long blue coat and ruffled shirt, leaning on his cane, for he was lame, and smiling and bowing like a true Frenchman.

"As he approached, the three old ladies rose, and courtesied with the utmost dignity. Lafayette bowed first to the Governor's picture, then to the Governor's widow, and kissed her hand.

"That was droll; for on the back of her glove was stamped Lafayette's likeness, and the gallant old gentleman kissed his own face.

"Then some of the young ladies were presented, and, as if to escape any further self-salutations, the marquis kissed the pretty girls on the cheek.

"Yes, my dears, here is just the spot where the dear old man saluted me. I 'm quite as proud of it now as I was then, for he was a brave, good man, and helped us in our trouble.

"He did not stay long, but we were very merry, drinking his health, receiving his

compliments, and enjoying the honor he did us.

"Down in the street there was a crowd, of course, and when he left they wanted to take out the horses and drag him home in triumph. But he didn't wish it; and while that affair was being arranged, we girls had been pelting him with the flowers which we tore from the vases, the walls, and our own topknots, to scatter over him.

"He liked that, and laughed, and waved his hand to us, while we ran, and pelted, and begged him to come again.

"We young folks quite lost our heads that night, and I have n't a very clear idea of how I got home. The last thing I remember was hanging out of the window with a flock of girls, watching the carriage roll away, while the crowd cheered as if they were mad.

"Bless my heart, it seems as if I heard 'em now! 'Hurrah for Lafayette and Mayor Quincy!

Quincy! Hurrah for Madam Hancock and the pretty girls! Hurrah for Col. May!' 'Three cheers for Boston! Now, then! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!'"

And here the old lady stopped, out of breath, with her cap askew, her spectacles on the end of her nose, and her knitting much the worse for being waved enthusiastically in the air, while she hung over the arm of her chair, shrilly cheering an imaginary Lafayette. The girls clapped their hands, and Tom hurrahed with all his might, saying, when he got his breath, "Lafayette was a regular old trump; I always liked him." 

"My dear! what a disrespectful way to speak of that great man," said grandma, shocked at Young America's irreverence.

 "Well, he was a trump, anyway, so why not call him one?" asked Tom, feeling that the objectionable word was all that could be desired.

Alcott, Louisa May (2009-10-04). An Old-Fashioned Girl, Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

Lafayette Liberty Elm Redux

 On May 19, 2010,  Comte Gilbert de Pusy Lafayette, sixth generation grandson of the famous Revolutionary War hero, General Lafayette, visited Concord, NH. He came here  to mark the 175th anniversary of his ancestor's visit to our state capital on June 22, 1825, during his "Farewell Tour" of America. On that occasion, General Lafayette visited the State House, greeted some 200 Revolutionary War veterans on the State House lawn, and sat down to an outdoor banquet with more than 600 guests.  

I wrote about this  thrilling day in A Buss from Lafayette:

      Major Weeks told us more about the Concord reception for Lafayette.
      After the famous hero had visited the legislature, he came out of the Capitol 
to find two hundred Revolutionary soldiers, assembled under the command of 
General Benjamin Pierce, waiting to pay him their respects. After Pierce was
formally presented to Lafayette, he presented each individual veteran in 
turn to the esteemed visitor.
      “It was very affecting,” said the major. “All the veterans shed tears and 
some of them sobbed aloud. Many had served under Lafayette at one time or 
another during the Revolution. In fact, Lafayette remembered a number of them 
by name!”
     Father asked, “Were you able to speak to General Lafayette?”
    “Yes, of course. In fact, later I had the honor of sitting right next to him at 
the huge banquet on the State House grounds. Over six hundred people sat down to dine.”
    And all for this one man, I thought. Then it struck me that this one man was a kind of living link with our nation’s history.  - A Buss from Lafayette © 2016 by Dorothea Jensen

I was crossing the State House grounds a couple of weeks ago, and I happened upon the tree pictured above.  It turns that this elm tree was planted in 2010 to replace the one planted in Lafayette's honor soon after his visit in 1825.

Kevin Landrigan wrote an article about this in Nashua Telegraph on June 13, 2010.

Here is the link to read what he wrote: Article About new Lafayette Liberty Elm.

(Of course, I had a particular warm spot for the events of the day when Lafayette's descendant visited Concord, as that was when Alan Hoffman, President of the American Friends of Lafayatte, asked the Comte a question for me about the Lafayette family tree.)

I took a picture of the plaque on the ground beside the tree, but it was too hard to read for me to place it in this post.  Here is what it says:


AMERICAN LIBERTY ELM
Named for the Liberty Tree, a symbol of Freedom to the
Sons of Liberty, and cut down by the British Redcoats in 1775.

This Liberty Elm was planted as part of a national program
to restore the grace and beauty of the American elm to cities
 and towns across America

Planted May 19, 2010

"The world should never forget the spot where once
 stood the Liberty Tree, so famous in your annals."

-General Lafayette