Queen of the Falls

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Queen of the Falls

eBook(NOOK Kids)

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eBook(NOOK Kids)
$1.99 ~~$7.99~~ Save 75% Current price is $1.99, Original price is $7.99. You Save 75%.

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Overview

Come meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your own eyes her daring ride!

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.

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?

This gorgeous, imaginative picture book is from two-time Caldecott winner Chris Van Allsburg, creator of Jumanji and The Polar Express.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547775135
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/04/2011
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	1060L (what's this?)
File size:	86 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Chris Van Allsburg is one of America’s most innovative picture book creators. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Jumanji and The Polar Express and received a Caldecott Honor for his very first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. He has received the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children’s literature, a National Book Award, and a Society of Illustrators Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors. He lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Visit him at chrisvanallsburg.com.

Hometown:

Providence, Rhode Island

Date of Birth:

June 18, 1949

Place of Birth:

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Education:

University of Michigan College of Architecture & Design, 1972; Rhode Island School of Design, MFA, 1975

Website:

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Van Allsburg’s foray into nonfiction is filled with the same suspense, surrealism, and menace that have thrilled readers of his fiction."—School Library Journal, starred review

"In this unromantic and bittersweet account, Van Allsburg presents the feat as born as much out of need as of courage, with Taylor portrayed as a hardheaded eccentric and an unlikely queen."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A daredevil story is an easy sell for almost any kid audience, and a daredevil story by a beloved storyteller is just about as good as it gets."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"An odd, unsettling meditation on fame."—Kirkus Reviews

"This illustrated biography climaxes beautifully with a double-page spread of the great falls, a tiny barrel bobbing in the current, and a powerful one-line text: '"Oh, Lord," she whispered, and then she was gone.'"—The Horn Book

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Van Allsburg delivers plenty of narrative tension and captivating perspectives as he tells of [Taylor's] dangerous and discombobulating ride over the falls.
—The Washington Post

Abby McGanney Nolan

"Van Allsburg’s foray into nonfiction is filled with the same suspense, surrealism, and menace that have thrilled readers of his fiction."—School Library Journal, starred review

"In this unromantic and bittersweet account, Van Allsburg presents the feat as born as much out of need as of courage, with Taylor portrayed as a hardheaded eccentric and an unlikely queen."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A daredevil story is an easy sell for almost any kid audience, and a daredevil story by a beloved storyteller is just about as good as it gets."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "An odd, unsettling meditation on fame."—Kirkus Reviews

"This illustrated biography climaxes beautifully with a double-page spread of the great falls, a tiny barrel bobbing in the current, and a powerful one-line text: '"Oh, Lord," she whispered, and then she was gone.'"—The Horn Book —

From the Publisher

Darkly moody illustrations capture a daredevil's successful stunt. In 1901, "short, plump, and fussy" Annie Edson Taylor is 62 years old. Her charm school folds, and she fears "the poorhouse, an unhappy place where old people without money or a family... live out their years." Annie's no thrill-seeker, just astoundingly matter-of-fact and audacious—so she decides to be the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. As Annie designs her own barrel, "with iron bands wrapped around it" and a leather belt and metal handles inside, Van Allsburg uses scale and angle for drama. Annie meticulously squints down an oak plank to choose the best one; a close-up of a broken egg oozing out of a can speaks volumes about Annie's potential experience. The highly skilled black-and–antique-cream drawings have a bleak, unsettling vibe, matching first the danger of the feat and then Annie's disappointment at the lack of financial profit, for this was to be her road to security. On tour, audiences are skeptical or bored to see that "the fearless 'Queen of the Falls' [is] a little old lady." At the end, Annie claims contentment, but it's hard to believe; still, daredevil fans will appreciate the triumphant stunt and the details of how it worked. An odd, unsettling meditation on fame. (author's note, bibliography, list of barrel riders) (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews