TECHNOLOGY CRUCIAL TO THIS PARTICULAR STORY — Annie’s techinical knowledge was “modest at best” and the best vehicle she could think of was a barrel lined with pillows. Using Taylor as the heroine of his story, Chris Van Allsburg creates detailed charcoal drawings to complete Annie Taylor's life story, from widowhood to celebrity to forgotten "stunter". She was a charm school teacher who yearned for more and thought she could make money and achieve fame by her famous stunt.

There remained many open fields and streams and ponds where a boy could catch minnows and frogs, or see a firefly at night. It was about a mile and a half to Breton Downs School, which Chris walked to every day and attended until 6th grade, when the Van Allsburg family moved again. She was a elderly woman in her 60s who taught at a Charm School in Bay City MI. Her clients had dried up and she had no retirement, so she was looking for a way to make some money. Eventually, she decided on going over the Falls in a barrel to make money. Isn't that strange. She was an innovative woman at that. She designed and made her own barrel and found a publicist to drum up curiosity. She did tell the world she was in her 40s so when people actually saw her, they didn't believe it was her that went over.Fascinating story. Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel in 1901 and she lived. The story is rather interesting. Who was Annie? Chris Van Allsburg tells the tale superbly, with his art and his words. Yes, this is a children's book, but one which could be a collectible for the drawings alone (and reinforced binding makes it harder for little hands to tear apart). Annie Edson Taylor did not become famous, because people found it hard to believe a senior citizen (in those days) could survive such a fall. Nevertheless, it was a great feat and she will always be the first of the successful Barrel Riders. By creating this book, Chris Van Allsburg has made many people aware of a character from American history which we would never have known about otherwise.

Annie Edson Taylor was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Her motives were financial but she never made much money from her adventure. THE EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE — Apparently, Annie was the first to ever pull this stunt. Three men went down before (half a century before) and plunged to their deaths. Many who came after were younger, fitter and had the huge psychological advantage of knowing that it had been done before. But I can understand why she did it. Annie would not have felt invisible at the age of 42. She was running her charm school and had a place in the world. By pretending to the world that she was 42, she was proabably trying to reclaim some of the contentedness she felt at age 42. THE BIG STRUGGLE Legend of the White Canoe“, 1909, created just 8 years after Annie tumbled over Niagara Falls. Illustration is for a postcard, I think by Frank Vincent DuMond. Franz Stassen made four portfolios of illustrations for Wagner’s Ring operas waterfall NATURAL SETTINGS — The Niagara Falls; magnificent waterfalls which attract many tourists. In English words don’t carry gender, but many things do carry symbolic gender. Waterfalls are generally gendered feminine. The illustrations below may partly explain why; the fall of water is reminiscent of a young woman’s cascading hair. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite The Waterfall Fairy The Enchanted Forest 1921 Ida Rentoul Outhwaite 1888 – 1960 The Waterfall Fairy colouredThe only woman who ever made the trip through the rapids is Miss Sadie Allen. The date of her trip was November 28th, 1886, and her companion was George Harlett, who, on August 8th of the same year, had been through the rapids with William Potts. They used the same barrel used by Hazlett and Potts. Miss Allen’s trip ended at the whirlpool. “The Heroes of Niagara”, The Wide World Magazine