Queen of the Falls Is Over the Top
by K.C.
Next time you’re confronted with riding a monster Cedar Point roller coaster, think of the Queen of the Falls and ease your racing heart. An aging charm school teacher in Bay City, Michigan, finds she must close her school because of dwindling student enrollment. Over the years she had traveled and taught but had not saved much money. Now in her sixties she needs a get-rich-quick plan.
Author and illustrator, Chris Van Allsburg sheds light on this surreal, true story of 63-year-old widow Annie Edson Taylor who hatches the idea of riding over Niagara Falls as a means of financially securing her retirement. In typical Van Allsburg style, he mysteriously unfolds the story of Annie as she persuades a local cooper to build a custom-sized barrel and how she “sells” a carnival worker to pitch her soon-to-be famous feat to newspaper folks in Niagara, NY. Van Allsburg uses his trademark sepia tones to transport the reader back in time and to cast a sense of unbelievability – features that so many of his books are known for.
As the pages turn, the tension builds. Will Annie succeed? If so, will she also win the hearts and dollars of thousands of fans? Open this book and hold onto your hat!
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