Song of the Lenape (Paperback)

In this sequel to Symphony of Spirits, James and Marion Applegate take the reader back to the wilderness of the great northeastern forests in a time before the first settlers reached the shores of America. Told through the eyes of two young Lenni Lenape, Osprey and Songbird, this story follows their struggle into adulthood while they fight their way back from slavery to Osprey’s home. Their survival and the lives of those slaves who escaped with them depends on Osprey’s ability to save them all. He needs to become their leader as they face Xkuk, the son of Gamek, who seeks revenge for his father’s death. Songbird, not sure of Osprey’s prowess, tries to guide him so they can work together. Their enemy is relentless and vicious, and he is not alone.

Jim and Marion Applegate earned their degrees in the Midwest from the University of Dubuque and Rockford College. After retiring in 1998 from a lifetime of teaching writing in public schools, they began a second career as authors, publishing their first novel, Symphony of Spirits, in 2005 and their second novel, Listen for the Lark in 2007. As members of Peninsula Writers of Michigan, the Woodstock, IL Troubadours Writers Organization, the Rockford Writers Guild of Illinois, and on the board of In Print, Rockford's Professional Writers Organization, they have been the fortunate recipients of encouragement and advice. Born and raised in Watchung, New Jersey, they spent their formative years exploring the beauty and mystery of coastal beaches, inland forest, and mountainous regions where the rivers begin their journeys to the sea. Their memories of this territory before it became one of the most populated places in the United States provide the settings for both of their first two novels. While raising their two children in the woodlands and prairies of northern Illinois along the Kinnikinnick Creek, they nourished their love of the outdoors. After retiring, they began volunteering for the Natural Land Institute, an organization that preserves and protects the environment. Marion's family history led them to research the Delaware Indians, who saved Penelope Van Princis's life. Marion, her descendant would not have been born if Penelope had not lived long enough to bear ten children after facing almost certain death the day she arrived on the beach of New Jersey in 1643. These few remaining facts about their heroine encouraged Jim and Marion to imagine how she survived and succeeded in building a remarkable life. Contrary to what many Europeans believed when they first came to America, the Delaware people placed a premium on family values over and above the importance of masculine prowess. These people fought only to protect their loved ones and were generous to strangers like Penelope.