The adult accomplishments of this Founding Father, architect of the Constitution and first Secretary of the Treasury are legendary, and in this latest offering, children meet the young "Alec" growing up in the Caribbean as he dreams of visiting the land called America. Accompanied by his parrot, Hurry-Up, and his companion, Poleon, Alec's tranquil days are filled with the books he loves and visits to the waterfront to greet the large ships arriving from Europe—until his uncle insists that Alec fit riding lessons into his schedule. Children will identify with Alec's struggle to overcome his fear of horses and cheer at his courage as he narrowly escapes a violent hurricane while on horseback, all while keeping his eye on the prize—school in America. Featured sections and fun facts explain what happened next and when Alexander Hamilton lived, providing young readers with a snapshot of the leader's entire life. "Young readers will relate to Daisy's spunky fighting spirit and the book provides the right combination of information about Juliette's youth, as well as her later accomplishments." — Christian Library Journal on Juliette Low, Girl Scount Founder, also by Helen Boyd Higgins "A wonderful way of making history come alive for young readers." — The Old Schoolhouse magazine on the Young Patriot series Helen Boyd Higgins (1892–1971) was the author of numerous books for children about famous Americans, including Stephen Foster, Juliette Low, Walter Reed, and Noah Webster. Cathy Morrison is the illustrator of Ignacio's Chair and the Young Patriots series. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and Picturebookartists.org. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Alexander Hamilton Young Statesman By Helen Boyd Higgins, Harold Underdown, Cathy Morrison Patria Press, Inc. Copyright © 2008 The Estate of Helen Boyd Higgins All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-882859-62-7 CHAPTER 1 Rescue from the Sea The birds and monkeys heard Alec as he came running through the forest. "Hey! My friends up there in the trees!" he shouted. "Do you know what day this is? It's my mother's birthday!" The bright-colored, long-tailed parakeets twittered and the monkeys chattered, and Alexander Hamilton laughed as he jumped over a fallen log. It was early morning on the island of St. Croix in the West Indies. St. Croix belonged to Denmark, unlike Nevis Island, where Alec was born, which belonged to England. Alec watched as a long, greenish-brown snake uncoiled itself from the middle of the path and rattled away into the deep woods. A land crab crawled across the path, and Alec sat down on the log to watch it. He began to sing, as he always did when he was excited. This morning he was thinking about his mother's birthday, so this is what he sang: "It is the month of August In seventeen sixty-five. It is my mother's birthday — I'm glad she is alive." The crab kept pushing his heavy shell through the leaves. "Goodbye," Alec called, "I'd like to follow you. But I don't have time today. I must find a piece of pink coral to tie on my mother's necklace. That will be my present for her." As he spoke, a piece of coconut shell hit him on the ear. A family of monkeys was peeping down through the palm branches. They were throwing whatever their paws could reach. Alec gave a shout and climbed up the nearest banana tree. When he reached the branches just opposite the monkeys, he looked around for ammunition. Just above him was a giant bunch of ripe bananas. "Hey!" he called to the little brown animals. "On guard, there! I'm fighting for the King." The monkeys seemed to understand. Coconut pieces and bananas began to fly back and forth. It was a hard but short war. "Come on, lazy ones!" Alec shouted as he saw that the monkeys were hurrying away. "Hi-ho!" he called again as he threw the last shot. "I have won the battle for King George. Now these trees and this island of St. Croix belong again to England." The monkeys only chattered as they hurried away. Alec slid down the smooth tree trunk and ran happily up a steep path leading to a cliff overlooking the great, blue Atlantic Ocean. Alec often came here just to watch the waves come tumbling in on the sandy beaches below. He liked to think about the time when he would take a boat across this ocean to the American Colonies. His mother had told him that the American Colonies were so far away across the ocean that it took weeks to reach them. Alec knew that there were Indians living in the forests that covered much of the new land. He also knew that in a town called New York in the new country, there was a college. Alec thought that it would be more exciting than anything in the whole world to sail away on a boat to America. It was his biggest dream. But today he had no time to think about anything but his errand to the coral beach beyond the cliff. He ran down the path to the sandy shore. The wet sand oozed between his toes. He turned a handspring and wal