Walls: The Long History of Human Barriers and Why We Build Them. Written by Gregor Craigie and illustrated by Arden Taylor. Orca Book Publishers, 2024. $29.95 ages 9 and up

"While some walls were built to keep people out, 
others were erected with the sole purpose of 
keeping people inside. Those walls acted like 

giant prisons, trapping the unwilling inside
and making it practically impossible to escape. 
Such walls made possible some of the cruelest 
events in history."

This book is Gregor Craigie's second book written with young people in mind. In it, he discusses the many reasons for having walls. His research dates back to the Great Wall of China and forward to modern fences built at borders today. In ten chapters he offers looks throughout history at the reasons walls have been built: to keep people out, to keep people in, to protect crops and livestock, to defend against the enemy, to control nature, to keep two sides apart, to protect the city, to make money, to set boundaries, and finally, to protect the planet. Each is quite fascinating, even though some are also quite disturbing. 

His introduction concerns a village in Vermont that has a street with a double yellow line. It is the only indication that the village itself sits in two countries; the north side in Canada, the south side in the United States. There are no walls or fences to separate them. That is not the case for many other places in the world where walls have been constructed since very early times. 

Two of the oldest are The Great Wall of China and Ukraine's Ancient Walls, while two more modern are the United States-Mexico Border Wall and the Hungary Border Barrier. As the author explores the many reasons for creating these walls, he introduces his readers to the geography and appeal of many world communities. The book's tone is conducive to learning, and to thinking about the reasons these walls were built. Archival photographs are captioned, and digital illustrations are created to provide further information for an interested audience.  

Building walls and often tearing them down is a part of the world's history. Sometimes they have helped; other times they have been a hindrance. Why do we have them? If you really want to know, this is a grand place to start. 

A table of contents, glossary, further resources, and an index are all included.

Walls is one of seven books that are part of the Orca Timeline series. Other titles include: What Do We Eat? Why We Need Vaccines. Cities. Are We There Yet? Are We Having Fun Yet? and Why Humans Build Up.