A Buss from Lafayette Teacher's Guide

"A full scale history lesson disguised as a can't put it down story." I Read What You Write Blog Gold Medalist (Middle School/Historical Fiction), 2017 Literary Classics Award 1st Place Winner (Historical Fiction), 2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards Bronze Medalist (Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction), 2017 eLit Awards Quarter Finalist, 2016 Booklife Prize (Middle Grade) One of the top 10 MG entries Seal of Approval Recipient, 2017 Literary Classics Awards Named on the Grateful American Kids website as one of the best history books for kids to read Fourteen-year-old Clara Hargraves lives on a farm in Hopkinton, a small New Hampshire town, during the early 19th century. She has a couple of big problems. First of all, she has a stepmother, Priscilla, who used to be her spinster schoolteacher aunt. Clara resents that her late mother's older sister has not only married her father but is about to have a baby. To make matters worse, "Prissy Priscilla" keeps trying to make the rambunctious, clever, and witty Clara act like a proper young lady. Secondly, Clara has red hair, making her a target for teasing by a handsome older boy, Dickson Weeks, and by her pretty seventeen-year-old Dread Cousin Hetty. Clara, however, has a secret plan she hopes will change this. During the last week of June, 1825, Clara's town is abuzz because the famous General Lafayette is about to visit their state during his farewell tour of America. In those eventful seven days, Clara learns a lot about her family, Hetty, Dickon, herself, and about Lafayette. She comes to understand the huge and vital role the young French aristocrat played in America's Revolutionary War and to see that her problems might not be quite so terrible after all. "A winning historical tale that may appeal to young fans of the musical Hamilton ." - Kirkus Reviews