PHOTO: Dorothea Johnson Jensen, acclaimed author of historical novels and whimsical verse, whose writing bridges history, imagination, and timeless storytelling for young readers.
Blending Past And Present Through Storytelling
Dorothea Johnson Jensen reflects on her journey as a writer, blending historical accuracy with imaginative storytelling, from Revolutionary America to whimsical Christmas elves, inspiring young readers with engaging narratives across time.
Dorothea Johnson Jensen has spent her life weaving together literature, history, and imagination in ways that speak deeply to both children and adults. With a background as a Peace Corps volunteer, teacher, tutor, and actress, she brings an unusual breadth of experience to her writing, shaping stories that are as enlightening as they are engaging. From Revolutionary America to the North Pole, her work carries the same spark of playfulness and precision.
Her historical novels, The Riddle of Penncroft Farm and A Buss from Lafayette, place young readers at the heart of transformative moments in history, while Liberty-Loving Lafayette reintroduces a hero of the Revolution through witty, lyrical verse. Jensen’s gift lies in her ability to transform the past into vivid, living narrative—reminding us that history is not just dates and facts, but voices, choices, and conflicts that still resonate.
Yet her imagination also dances into lighter realms. In her Izzy Elves series, she reimagines Santa’s helpers for the digital age, crafting rhyming, whimsical stories that delight children and parents alike. Whether through historical fiction or holiday verse, she approaches storytelling with a rare combination of rigour and charm.
At the heart of Jensen’s work lies a conviction that literature can both educate and entertain. Her stories open doors to history, empathy, and imagination, inviting young readers not only to learn, but to see themselves reflected in the challenges and triumphs of characters across time.
What inspired you to set The Riddle of Penncroft Farm during the AmericanRevolution, and how did you incorporate historical accuracy into the narrative?
When our children were little, we lived near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and often visited nearby Revolutionary War sites.Thenwe moved back to Minneapolis, and I searched for a way to keep that history alive for my kids. I was also worried that they might be finding the move to a new state and school difficult.Because of these two concerns, I decided towritea story about an unhappy modern boy moving to a farm near Valley Forgewhere he learns about the Revolution from an actualeyewitness.
I also wanted to show young readers the family conflicts arising from that war, and to help them understand that winning was definitelynot a foregone conclusion.
My other aim wasdemonstrating the difficultyof pinning down “truth”among conflicting accounts of historical events. I did that by including more than one version of Revolutionary events (Eddie’s vs. Geordie’s accounts) so that readers could see how slippery history “facts” can be.
Of course, incorporating historical accuracy into the narrative was complicated, as I had to first get a solid understanding of what actually happened, then weave my fictional story around that.
(Last summer I visited Philadelphia with four grandsons and was pleased to find numerous reminders of the accuracy of my book. These included the reference to American POWs at Independence Hall, and the “no meat, no soldier” chant quoted at the Valley Forge museum display.)
Can you discuss the significance of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in your novel A Buss from Lafayette and its impact on the protagonist?
My interest in Lafayette’s Farewell Tour began in England on a Jane Austen tour in 1997,where I met an older lady who told me her great grandmother had been kissed as a child by Lafayette on his Farewell Tour to America.This spurred my interest in Lafayette himself, and in his Farewell Tour. In my subsequent research, I learned that approximately 3 million Americans came out to see him as he traveled through the then 24 states, and he was greeted with enormous enthusiasm everywhere he went.
I also learned that Lafayette not only visited my own tiny New Hampshire town in 1825,but had actually passed right by my house!
As I learned more about Lafayette’s charming personality, self-deprecating sense of humor, personal sacrifices, commitment to the ideals of liberty, skill as a military commander, and friendship with Washington and other “Founding Fathers,” I had to write about him. I decided to set my story in the town where I liveas a way of showing the effect his Tour had on Americans who met him.
Fortuitously, when I began writing this story, I also happened to watch an interview of historian Ron Chernow, who mentioned that many of these Founding Fathers, including Lafayette, were “ginger-ish.” That gave me the central idea for Clara’s life-changing meeting with the world-famous Frenchman.
What motivated you to create the Santa’s Izzy Elves series, and how do these stories differ from your historical fiction works?
My dad was a family doctor. One Christmas eve, he made a middle-of-the-night home call, and returned very early in the morning.He decided to turn on the Christmas tree lightsand accidentallyknockedthe whole thing down. The crash woke me up, and I thought Santa had been trapped in our living room.
In the 1990s, this memory inspired me to come up with Tizzy, one of Santa’s elves, who is trapped in a gift delivered to a home with two young sons. Tizzy begs them to use their imaginations to get him back home to the North Pole. Out of this grew the other storiesfeaturing the tech-savvy Izzy Elves.
Obviously, these are fundamentally different from my historical fiction, as they are rhyming verse, fantasy, and illustrated.
In Liberty-Loving Lafayette, how did you aim to educate young readers about Lafayette’s role in American history through verse?
Of course, I was initially inspired by Hamilton: The Musical. I felt that Lafayette’s story got short shrift in that production, and decided to create a verse a bit like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s that included everything he left out about “America’s Favorite fighting Frenchman.” I figured that if Hamilton’s lyrical verse could hook the interest of young people on history, maybe mine could, too!
What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to write historical fiction for young readers?
First of all, the author must learn as much as possible about the historical events against which the fictional story is set. Accuracy is hugely important. The author must then come up a fictional story which somehow illuminatesits historical background.
This requires developing credible personal conflicts for the protagonist to which modern young readers can relate. In Clara’s case (inA Buss from Lafayette) several issues trouble her with which I thought today’s kids could identify.
She has lost her mother and has a new stepmother, Priscilla. At fourteen,she isfinding the attentions of an older boy confusing, and, finally she has bright red hair, which makes her the target for teasing.
Dealing with stepparents, boys, and personal appearance insecurities? These are all issues with which teenagers still struggle. In A Buss from Lafayette, I tried to show that the young people of two hundred years ago had much in common with those of today, despite the difference in historical setting.
