Reference & Learning Aids

A lot of education is filling in gaps. Even more is simple fact-memorization, the primary building block leading to the ability to regurgitate ideas, analyze them, and form original ones. Either way, there often isn't a better solution than stuffing names, dates, and figures in kids' heads until they can recall them at will. They hate this, generally, but it's a necessary evil.

In no way as unpleasant, but just as educational, is something most kids love to do: getting comfy with a big compendium of knowledge and turning each page, learning little tidbits about history, the world around them, how their body works, or who's been in outer space until they've had enough and go outside to hunt trolls or dig up buried treasure.

The best word to describe such books is one that every college student learns to dread: reference. If you don't get an F on your paper because you wrote it two hours before class, you definitely will because you forgot to cite your references. It's important to remember, however, that the enemy isn't reference; the enemy (for lack of a better term) is a system that places more value on following arbitrary guidelines than presenting and commenting on thoughts and information.

We're here to put the RAD back in reference. And memorization—there's nothing that says learning the times tables has to be boring. It often is, but usually only because we look at it as a chore, and not a privilege or exciting activity. This attitude often starts with parents: we didn't like math in school, so we kind of groan along with our kids whenever the ol' numbers chart comes out. If we get excited instead, our children are likely to do the same.

Below you'll find a long list of books crammed with facts. Some of them aren't important facts (usually the most fun), some of them are essential; we're not sure where the distinction should or does lie all the time, so we'll leave you to sort that out for yourselves. We would simply encourage, whether you're teaching the tens chart in math, or adding nuance to a study of the Old West by reading a short bio of female outlaw Belle Prater, that you approach "just the facts" with as much joy and anticipation as you'd like to see your children exhibit.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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69 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, New Books & Materials
1001 Commonly Misspelled Words
by Robert Magnan & Mary Lou Santovec
from McGraw-Hill
for 10th-Adult
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$15.00
50 States Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 5th-Adult
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$7.96
America: The First 350 Years - MP3 CD
by Steve Wilkins
from Covenant Publications
for 7th-Adult
in History Conferences & Lectures (Location: HISRF-CONF)
$25.00
American Heritage Dictionary
by Houghton Mifflin Company
5th edition from Dell Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$9.99
Art of Fiction
by John Gardner
from Vintage Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of World History
2nd edition from Oxford University
for 7th-Adult
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$49.95
Bible Jesus Read
by Philip Yancey
from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Surveys (Location: XBI-SURV)
$16.99
Bible Study
by Kathleen Buswell Nielson
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$11.00
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus with Lester Kaufman & Tom Stern
11th edition from Jossey-Bass
for 6th-Adult
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$16.95 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Complete Rhyming Dictionary
from Dell Publishing
for 1st-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.99
Debunking Howard Zinn
by Mary Grabar
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$16.00
Deluxe Then and Now Bible Maps
by Rose Publishing
New & Expanded Edition from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$34.99
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
from Gotham Books
Grammar Reference for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$15.00 $7.50 (3 in stock)
Elements of Style
by William Strunk & E. B. White
4th edition from Allyn and Bacon
Writing Handbook for 9th-12th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$9.99
Elements of Style (Illustrated)
by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.
from Penguin Books
for 7th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$18.00
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
by Mark Dunn
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Englishman's Greek Concordance of New Testament
by George V. Wigram
from Hendrickson Publishers
for Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$34.00
ESV Concise Bible Atlas
by David P. Barrett
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$11.99
Facts Plus
by Susan C. Anthony
from Instructional Resources Company
for 9th-adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$19.95
Grasping God's Word - Workbook
by J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall
3rd edition from Zondervan
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$13.97
History of the American People
by Paul Johnson
from HarperCollins
for 11th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$22.99
How the West Won
by Rodney Stark
from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
for 12th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.00
How to Develop a Brilliant Memory Week by Week
by Dominic O'Brien
from Duncan Baird
for 9th-Adult
in Research & Study Skills (Location: REF-STUDY)
$12.95
How to Grow in Christ
by Jack Kinneer
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$6.80
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
by Douglas Stuart, Gordon D. Fee
3rd edition from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$16.99 $8.50 (2 in stock)
How to Write Clearly
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.99
Journey through the Bible
by V. Gilbert Beers
from Veritas Press
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$35.00
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
from Encounter Books
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$49.99
Literary Structure of the Old Testament
by David A. Dorsey
from Baker Academics
in Bible Surveys (Location: XBI-SURV)
$40.00
Lively Art of Writing
by Lucile Vaughan Payne
from Mentor Books
Writing Reference for 10th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$8.99
Medieval World: An Illustrated Atlas
by John M. Thompson
from National Geographic
for 9th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$40.00 $28.00 (1 in stock)
Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$5.99
Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$6.50
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
11th edition from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$22.95
Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary
by Merriam-Webster
2nd edition from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$15.95
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
by Brandon J. O'Brien, E. Randolph Richards
from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$15.99
Nature of the American System
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$18.00
New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha
5th edition from Oxford University
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$26.99
New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History
by Colin McEvedy
from Penguin Putnam
Atlas/History Reference for
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.00
Old Western Culture Year 1 Volume 1
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 1 Volume 2
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 1 Volume 3
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 1 Volume 4
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 1
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 2
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 3
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Pacific Northwest Insects
Timber Press Field Guides
by Judy Haggard, Peter Haggard
from Seattle Audubon Society
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$34.95
Patriot's History of the United States
by Larry Schweikart & Michael Allen
from Sentinel
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$28.00
Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies
by Anthony J. Petrotta, Arthur G. Patzia
from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$6.00
Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail
by Theodore Roosevelt
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$18.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Roget's International Thesaurus
by Barbara Ann Kipfer
7th edition from Collins
for 7th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$22.95
Rose Book of Bible Charts 2
by Rose Publishing
from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$34.99
Rose Book of Bible Charts 3
by Rose Publishing
from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$29.99
Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps & Time Lines
by Rose Publishing
from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$34.99
Rose Guide to the Temple
from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$29.99
Smithsonian Handbook of Horses
Dorling Kindersley Handbooks
by Elwyn H. Edwards
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-12th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$24.00
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$19.97 $10.00 (3 in stock)
Student's Guide to Writing College Papers
by Kate L. Turabian
Fourth Edition from University of Chicago
for 10th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$17.00
Synonym Finder
by Jerome Irving Rodale
from Warner Books
for 11th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$20.00
Synonym Finder
by Jerome Irving Rodale
from Rodale Press
for 7th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$25.56
Taking the Old Testament Challenge
by Judson Poling
from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$12.99
Teaching and Learning America's Christian History
by Rosalie Slater
from Foundation for American Christian Education
in Principle Approach (Location: HSR-METPA)
$42.95 $15.00 (4 in stock)
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
by Bruce Waltke, Gleason Archer, R.Laird Harris
from Moody Press
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$54.00
This Independent Republic
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
American History Reference for
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$17.00
Uncovering the Logic of English
by Denise Eide
2nd Edition from Logic of English, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Logic of English (Location: PHO-LOE)
$14.99
Unwrapping the Pharaohs
by John Ashton & David Down
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$27.99 $16.00 (4 in stock)
Wordsmithy
by Douglas Wilson
1st edition from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$14.00
World History Made Simple
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$13.95
Writer's Guide to Perfect Punctuation
by Victor C. Pellegrino
from Maui arThoughts Company
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$14.95