The Secret Cave

“In The Secret Cave, Caldecott Medal-winner Emily Arnold McCully reconstructs this exciting episode through engaging watercolor illustrations that capture the bright beauty of the craggy French countryside, the dank unknown as the boys made their way through narrow underground passages, and the stirring ancient art that the boys’ dim lights suddenly revealed.”

-The Washington Post

“Part Hardy Boys, part archeology, this mesmerizing look at the discovery of the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux invites today’s readers to experience the wonder of the event… The Caldecott winner gets the emotions of the secret descent for buried treasure just right.”

-Kirkus

“The illustrator copies the cave paintings with a sensitive touch that is somehow both impressionistic and exact, capturing the vitality and gestural grace of each line…A kid-centered approach to a wonderful tale.” From Horn Book Magazine: “McCully’s own handsome paintings vary from crisply defined characters and events above ground to dark, impressionistic scenes within the cave, where the art and its discovery come dramatically to life. An excellent introduction to this extraordinary site, and to the effect such discoveries have on our understanding of the past.”

-School Library Journal

“…a serviceable introduction for young listeners, with luscious watercolor renderings of the cramped, inky passageways vying for oohs and aahs with recreations of the startlingly realistic animal paintings themselves.”

-BCCB

“McCully’s text builds suspense in moment-by-moment descriptions of the boys slithering through narrow, dark, subterranean passageways, but it’s the images that have the biggest impact. The dramatically lit, mixed-media scenes evoke both the thrilling exploration and then the astonishing discoveries, reproduced in evocative, textured images.”

-Booklist

“Part Hardy Boys, part archeology, this mesmerizing look at the discovery of the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux invites today’s readers to experience the wonder of the event. McCully has written and drawn a stunning fictionalized account based on historical records and interviews. The endpapers entice with the rendering of the maps of the caves, and soft, wide watercolor strokes capture the essence of the prehistoric art. When the action is aboveground, the realistic illustrations are her characteristic ink-and-watercolor style, but below the ground the edges soften and the images become shadowy and mysterious. The Caldecott winner gets the emotions of the secret descent for buried treasure just right, drawing readers’ eyes down the tight shaft to the light of the first boy’s lantern in the large art-filled chamber. In one glorious wordless spread, the boys (and readers) are filled with awe at the revelation of the pristine art. What to do with this knowledge? The boys know just whom to trust. Budding historians will be amazed by this story of curiosity and serendipity.”

-The Washington Post