QUEEN OF THE FALLS

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)