The wetlands area of New Jersey where the Hackensack River meets Newark Bay is known as the Meadowlands. Lovely watercolor illustrations with border details and a straightforward text describe the state of this region hundreds of years ago, when it’s “20,000 acres of marshes, swamps, and bog . . . were home to many different plants and animals.” The Lenni Lenape lived there for thousands of years, before European settlers arrived in the early 1600s. Human activity directly contributed to the misuse of the Meadowlands, which became increasingly polluted and abused until it was cleaned up and revitalization began in the 1960s. The final page looks at an optimistic future, describing the Meadowlands as “inspiring people in urban wetlands all over the world to look for hope in this flat, wet, beautiful place.” (Ages 7–10)

A New York Times Notable Children's Book for 2011
One of Horn Book's Best Nonfiction Books of 2011
The 20,000 acres of wetlands in New Jersey now known as the Meadowlands were once home to hundreds of species of plants and animals. But in the four hundred years since European explorers first arrived in the Meadowlands, people have dammed up, drained, built over, and polluted this formerly vibrant ecosystem—and all but destroyed it. Still, signs of life remain—under bridges, on the edges of parking lots, and beside train tracks. Slowly but surely, with help from activist groups, government organizations, and ordinary people, the resilient creatures of the Meadowlands are making a comeback, and the wetlands are recovering.