Recommended by the New York Times Holiday Books Guide A quest to rediscover America’s other border—the fascinating but little-known northern one. America’s northern border is the world’s longest international boundary, yet it remains obscure even to Americans. The northern border was America’s primary border for centuries—much of the early history of the United States took place there—and to the tens of millions who live and work near the line, the region even has its own name: the northland. Travel writer Porter Fox spent three years exploring 4,000 miles of the border between Maine and Washington, traveling by canoe, freighter, car, and foot. In Northland, he blends a deeply reported and beautifully written story of the region’s history with a riveting account of his travels. Setting out from the easternmost point in the mainland United States, Fox follows explorer Samuel de Champlain’s adventures across the Northeast; recounts the rise and fall of the timber, iron, and rail industries; crosses the Great Lakes on a freighter; tracks America’s fur traders through the Boundary Waters; and traces the forty-ninth parallel from Minnesota to the Pacific Ocean. Fox, who grew up the son of a boat-builder in Maine’s northland, packs his narrative with colorful characters (Captain Meriwether Lewis, railroad tycoon James J. Hill, Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux) and extraordinary landscapes (Glacier National Park, the Northwest Angle, Washington’s North Cascades). He weaves in his encounters with residents, border guards, Indian activists, and militia leaders to give a dynamic portrait of the northland today, wracked by climate change, water wars, oil booms, and border security.

Praised as “one of the most inventive writers that science fiction has ever produced” (SF Site), national bestselling author Stephen Baxter presents a new saga of a world that could have become our own.... Ten thousand years ago, a vast and fertile plain existed that linked the British Isles to Europe. Home to a tribe of simple hunter-gatherers, Northland teems with nature’s bounty, but is also subject to its whims. Fourteen-year-old Ana calls Northland home, but her world is changing. The air is warming, the ice is melting, and the seas are rising. One day Ana meets a traveler from a far-distant city called Jericho—a town that is protected by a wall. And she starts to imagine the impossible....

"Marisol the Parasol" is a short whimsical tale told in rhyme and intended for young readers, as well as for adults to read-aloud to children. It is based in Paris and tells the story of the troubled romance between a sun umbrella (Marisol, a parasol) and a rain umbrella ("parapluie" in French), named Louie; and how their love comes to triumph in the end. Beyond the clear and straightforward attempt to entertain, the author and illustrator believe young English speaking listeners and readers may acquire from this little book some curiosity or insight about French and, by extension, foreign languages in general. (A glossary addresses the French words as well as a few in English which may not be familiar to young readers.) David "Ollie" Oliver's colorful, charming, and thoughtful illustrations evoke a little of the culture, look and style of the City of Paris in times somewhat earlier than our own. Under the surface of this tale, more serious questions and issues - such as the nature of work and of differences - might possibly provoke discussion which children, families, or teachers might find useful (not obligatory!)

The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in their basin. Will we divert water from the Great Lakes, causing them to end up like Central Asia's Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 percent of its volume since 1960? Or will we come to see that unregulated water withdrawals are ultimately catastrophic? Peter Annin writes a fast-paced account of the people and stories behind these upcoming battles. Destined to be the definitive story for the general public as well as policymakers, The Great Lakes Water Wars is a balanced, comprehensive look behind the scenes at the conflicts and compromises that are the past-and future-of this unique resource.

Te Tauwhanga a Reipae : The Waiting Place of Reipae is based on the traditional Maori story of the naming of Whangarei and features beautifully crafted Maori language and spectacular artwork. Written by Meryl Carter, translated by Mana Epiha and illustrated by Taimania Toia and Adrian Hill. Made in Northland, New Zealand and proudly Maori made.

Praised as “not only a gifted storyteller but also a master of speculative fiction” (Library Journal), bestselling author Stephen Baxter brings his epic Northland trilogy to a close as a once-thriving civilization faces winter without end.... Many generations ago, the Wall was built to hold back the sea. A simple dam, it grew into a vast linear city, home to scholars, builders, and merchants. Northland’s prosperity survived wars and unrest—and brought the whole of Europe together. But now darkness is falling. Days grow shorter, temperatures colder, and in the wake of long winters come famine, destruction, and terror. As a mass exodus to warmer climes threatens to fracture Northland, one man believes he can outwit the cold, and even salvage some scraps of the great civilization—before interminable gloom settles over the land; before the fires of war lay waste to an empire; before the ice comes....