Queen of the Falls

Yeahhh! Chris Van Allsburg is back- and this time it is not a fantasy book but a true story! (Thank you to Ms. Meta for introducing this book to me!) It is the true story of Annie Edson Taylor, a teacher who risked her life to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She was the first person to survive this daring stunt! The illustrations are (of course) beautiful and bring this story to life! Children will love this as they love The Man Who Walked Between the Towers.

She could remember standing in a park near the falls, hypnotized by the sight and sound, and holding her father’s hand as they took a walk that would lead them closer.
That’s what everyone wonders when they see Niagara . . . How close will their courage let them get to it?

At the turn of the nineteenth century, a retired sixty-two-year-old charm school instructor named Annie Edson Taylor, seeking fame and fortune, decided to do something that no one in the world had ever done before—she would go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel.
Come meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your own eyes her daring ride!

If you like Queen of the Falls, you will also like....

Women Daredevils: Thrills, Chills, and Frills by Julie Cummins
Annie Edson Taylor went over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Mabel Stark wrestled with tigers. Sonora Webster Carver plummeted forty feet on horseback into a tank of water. These and the eleven other women profiled in this book performed between 1880 and 1929, when females were expected to stay home and raise families, not entertain crowds with acts of derring-do. Older elementary children will especially love these short stories. This book was also a 2010-2011 SC Children's Book Nominee.

Great interview with Julie Cummins about the book and her inspiration-

http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_cummins_julie_qa.html