McCully, Emily Arnold.  The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux.  Farrar Straus Giroux.  2010.

This is a wonderful picture book story about the discovery of the famous Lascaux cave by some French school boys. Based on memories collected years later, the information about its exact discovery is considered fictional although the cave is real as is the incredible prehistoric art the boys found by exploring the cave. Interestingly, during the war, the Resistance used the cave “as a secret storehouse for munitions” The cave was reopened for visitors in 1948 and two of the discoverers “guided the first visitors and were appointed official guardians and guides. One remarkable fact about this cave is that because it was sealed for over 17,000 years, the artwork was vibrantly colorful. As time went by, the presence of so many visitors began a process of deterioration. Subsequently, the original cave was copied and then closed to all but scholars. The illustrations are stunning, and show the sequence leading up to the discovery of the cave art; a few examples of the cave art are included. The author’s note is very informative, and she includes a brief bibliography for readers interested in learning more about this remarkable discovery.