Queen of the Falls

Set in America in 1901, this is the true story of a 62 year old widow who in order to avoid ending up in the poor house, decided to do something, "...no one in the world had ever done before. Annie Taylor would go over Niagara Falls in a barrel."Chris Van Allsburg's illustrations are always excellent. Many of his books are written with little or no words. This however, is a tale told in words and pictures. The story is beautifully written: concise yet complex and exciting enough to interest older readers, intrigue adults and catch the imagination of younger children.This unusual woman is no stereotypical heroine. Does she succeed? Does she achieve fame and fortune? As always in any well written book, there's a subtle but thought provoking twist in the conclusion. Enjoy!

Chris Van Alsberg is supreme in writing and illustrating books for young people. And this book celebrates an individual who was never recognised for her achievement. Such an amazing body of work deserves celebration itself. The books have won so many awards and decorated the movie screen.

Beautiful pictures. A super book.

Used as a literacy text for a 3/4 class during our topic work on rivers