A Royal Ride: Catherine the Great’s Great Invention

Cartoon scenes of a young Catherine the Great (1729–1796) animate the beginnings of the first wooden roller coaster. The Russian empress adores Saint Petersburg’s winter ice slides (“she bolted, barreled, and breezed six hundred feet down,” reads Fulton’s spirited text) and longs to enjoy their thrill during the summer months. Sketching a design with “gilded beams and poles as high as a mountain,” Catherine sets her builders to the task. They modify and construct her idea, erecting a wood tower (not gold, to her dismay) and carriage that delight the empress, and the first “Russian mountain” is born. In Fleming’s art, Catherine pushes education for all and bosses builders about while wearing a crown and cape, accompanied by an orange tabby and small white dog. A brief author’s note, roller coaster timeline, and bibliography conclude this whimsical introduction to roller coaster history. Ages 4–8. [em](July) [/em]