Yours 'Til Niagara Falls by Brenda Z. Guiberson

In this colourful picture book, Niagara Falls tells its own story beginning when millions of years ago the land was covered by an ocean filled with trilobites and crinoids. At this time it was not a waterfalls. Millions of years passed, and their remains accumulated on the ocean floor eventually hardening into dolostone. 

Even eighteen thousand years ago, Niagara Falls was still not a waterfalls. It was the time of the most recent Ice Age when large ice sheets, miles thick covered the land. These glaciers scrapped and gouged out valleys and gorges. Woolly mammoths and saber-tooth tigers roamed the land.

Just over twelve thousand years ago, the glacial ice melted and the water formed glacial lakes and rivers. One river formed between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, plunging over a steep cliff made of dolostone and shale. That falls would be named Niagara Falls. Humans soon appeared at the falls, watching with wonder, and listening to the thundering voice of the water. The waterfall became the center of stories, of Hinu the Great Thunderer who hid in the cave behind the water. Settlers who came later, made up the story of a maiden, called the Maid of the Mist who could be seen in the mist of the waterfall.

 

Over many, many years the roaring waters cut into the layers of rock causing the waterfall to move up the river. In 1678, the waterfall was visited by Father Louis Hennepin who wrote about how large it was. Soon the Niagara Falls became famous because of his writings which were read by many people. 

The area around the falls grew busy with tourists and attractions like the Maid of the Mist I which began offering tours in 1846. The falls even became an attraction for daredevils. But it also offered a way for those who were enslaved in the United States to cross over into freedom in Canada. In 1881, the water of Niagara Falls was harnessed to provide electricity. The water today continues to flow over the cliffs of dolostone and shale, and the erosion continues. Some day, far into the future, Niagara Falls will reach Lake Ontario and the falls will no longer exist. 

Discussion

Yours 'Til Niagara Falls is a nonfiction book about the history of this famous waterfall, told from the perspective of Niagara Falls! Using the vibrant illustrations of artist William Low, Niagara Falls takes us through time from its beginning as sediments laid down in a large inland see that divided North America, to its discovery by early humans after the last Ice Age, to its modern-day tourist iteration. The beautiful illustrations were created using ink, crayon, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and capture the rich blues and greens of the falls.

Guiberson doesn't just focus on Niagara Falls' interesting geologic history, but also the unique modern events that are part of the falls as it developed into a burgeoning tourist attraction. There is the story about tightrope walker Charles Blondin, the Great Farini, and Annie Edson Taylor, the poor, sixty-three-year-old teacher who went over the falls in a white oak barrel and lived to sell postcards about it. In fact, there's so much Niagara Falls trivia it's impossible to include it all in a small picture book like this! This is a well-written, colourful and engaging picture book on one of the worlds most amazing natural sites.

Book Details:

Yours 'Til Niagara Falls by Brenda Z. Guiberson
New York: Godwin Books