Catherine the Great accomplished many things during her tenure in 1700’s Russia. She had a girls’ school built, wrote a book, built museums, fought battles and invented the first roller coaster. Yes, that’s true! She was a fan of ice slides, huge wooden structures coated with ice in the cold Russian winters, which had been around since the 1400’s. Unfortunately, the fun on ice slides ended each spring with the thaw. Catherine wanted to keep the fun rolling, so she sketched a design and her royal subjects got to work. She climbed forty feet to the top and rode the rails in a jewel-adorned roller coaster car. Then, she did it again and again!

This nonfiction book is a packed with information, including a timeline, author’s note, acknowledgements and bibliography. The ‘story’ of Catherine and her invention is written in simple language with accompanying illustrations add a colorful and sweet feel to the text. The book is geared toward the younger reader, but is packed with good information that will lead to further research. Very accessible nonfiction piece for those that need it.