LIBERTY-LOVING LAFAYETTE

This children’s book celebrates the contributions of Marquis de Lafayette to the American Revolution in rhyming verse.

A quotation from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton serves this book both as an epigraph and a tip of the hat to that production’s engaging, modernized portrayal of Lafayette, “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman.” Jensen, who has also written several works of historical fiction for children as well as Christmas stories, provides a similarly fresh take on Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette and his career, beginning when he was a teenager: “Young Lafayette had dinner with the British king’s bro, / Who told him the Americans were ‘good to go.’ ” Here as elsewhere, the information sketched out in the verse is explained more completely in the endnotes. In this case, readers can learn the date, full name of the king’s “bro,” and Lafayette’s recorded reaction to the conversation. The verses go on to describe Lafayette’s career as he made his way to the Colonies and joined the Revolutionary Army. He became a major general, distinguished himself in several battles and missions, was wounded, served and befriended Washington, won support from France, and played a decisive role in the Battle of Yorktown. Jensen’s deft rhymes and meters generally work well throughout, as when describing Lafayette’s voyage to America: “He endured the trip across despite some nasty mal de mer, / And learned a bit of English by the time he landed there.” While enjoyable on its own, the book is a useful resource with its historical paintings, glossary, bibliography, and endnotes. These are clear, informative, and full of intriguing tidbits, such as noting the “extremely close friendship between the fatherless Lafayette and the childless Washington.” The verse also has performance potential for educational events.

A well-written, multipurpose war-hero story that’s both entertaining and instructive.