History Spines & Surveys

While fact books, picture books, reference materials, and historical fiction all have their place, an important core of history study is found in spines and surveys, books that bring lots of important people, events, and dates together to lend context to an entire period. For instance, you might need a book on Civil War battles to adequately understand the military aspect of the struggle, but that's not going to help you grasp the overall significance, scope, and breadth of the war.

Just like a human spine which forms the basic core of a person's anatomy, history spines form the basis for subsequent study. They don't come complete with all the details (muscles, bones, skin), but they do provide a sound framework from which to build. Spines generally cover a fairly broad spectrum of times and places, with plenty of room for further research and gaps that outside study can easily fill, and link major events that otherwise might seem disjointed.

Surveys go a little further than spines. For the most part, surveys offer more information from the beginning, and present as a single narrative the major events as well as the connecting pieces and many of the details. Because there tends to be more information, these are probably better for older students, who don't need as much opportunity for switching between texts or using less structured material.

As mentioned before, the best thing either spines or surveys offer is context. This makes it a bit more imperative to find books you approve of on a worldview and ideological level. If the context a book is offering is completely humanistic, atheistic, and naturalistic, and you're doing your best to train your kids in biblical precepts, you'll probably want to avoid that title. Of course, this becomes less of an issue the older your kids get, and reading from a different perspective even becomes important.

For upper elementary and middle school students, Genevieve Foster's books offer an excellent spine format for important periods of United States and world history. Each volume is built around the period of one man's life, but describes people and events of global significance that may or may not have had anything to do directly with the title figure. These books are extremely informative, fun to read, and make excellent central texts for a Charlotte Mason approach to history.

In a similar vein but more on the survey side, the H. A. Guerber Histories offer a solid general introduction to the scope of world history, beginning with the ancient world and progressing all the way through the 19th century. Guerber was a Christian, and these texts are written from an obviously Christian worldview, so you don't need to run much damage control, if any. The books are written in story form, but also work in plenty of relevant cultural facts and perspective.

Also from a Christian perspective but a bit more doubtful in its theology, the Light and the Glory books from Peter Marshall and David Manuel trace the trajectory of United States history. These books are unique in that there is a series for younger readers, and another series for older students and adults. Each series parallels the other directly, except that there's more information (and often more dubious doctrinal content!) in the series for older readers.

If you're looking for a secular perspective on United States history, Joy Hakim's History of US is a good choice. It covers prehistory through the 20th century in a broad survey of both the essentials and many of the less-known but fascinating details and stories. Christian readers will want to know that Hakim is pretty biased and very humanistic, but there's still a lot of first-rate content and a plethora of full-color and black-and-white illustrations.

A survey or spine should always form the core of your children's history study. Without a solid foundation, they'll just be memorizing facts without context, and more than likely those facts will slip out as soon as they take the test, if not sooner. To make history both come alive and make some kind of reasonable sense, you'll need a book that's more than a list of facts or just fun to look at. For both broad-spectrum titles and those more specific in scope, we hope you'll browse our selection.

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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95 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Trade Paperback
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$21.95
Adam and His Kin
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
America and Vietnam
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$13.95
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$11.00
Augustus Caesar's World
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$21.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
from American Home-School Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
Castle with Many Rooms
by Lorene Lambert
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 1st-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Cuban Missile Crisis
by Karl E. Valois
from History Compass
Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Communism & The Cold War (Location: HISA-20CW)
$7.95
Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
New Updated Edition from Candlewick Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dust Bowl
Perspectives on History Series
by David C. King, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
Echoes of the Civil War: The Blue
Perspectives on History Series
by Stephen M. Forman, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Echoes of the Civil War: The Gray
Perspectives on History Series
by Stephen M. Forman, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
for 6th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest TOS
The American Story Series
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of the 16th & 17th Century
by Robert G. Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster and edited by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$21.95
Gold Rush
by Liza Ketchum
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-9th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Great Depression
Perspectives on History Series
by Janet Beyer & JoAnne B. Weisman, editors
from History Compass
Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
Greek Way
by Edith Hamilton
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Greek History for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$13.95 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Greek Way
by Edith Hamilton
1981 reprint from Time-Life Books
Greek History for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
Growing Up in Coal Country
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-9th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$7.95
History of US Assessment Book for the 3rd Edition
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 10
History of US Book 10
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 10
History of US Book 10
by Joy Hakim
4th edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95
History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (3 in stock)
History of US Book 3
History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 4
History of US Book 4
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 5
History of US Book 5
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95
History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
History of US Book 9
History of US Book 9
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
History of US Book 9
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
for 5th-7th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Indian Wars
Perspectives on History Series
by Mary Alice Burke Robinson, editor
1st edition from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Iron Horses Across America
Perspectives on History Series
by Jeanne Munn Bracken
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
Kids at Work
by Alan Temperley
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
1995 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
Landmark History of the American People
by Daniel & Ruth Boorstin
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$12.00 (4 in stock)
Landmark History of the American People Volume I
by Daniel J. Boorstin, Ruth F. Boorstin
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$15.00 (3 in stock)
Landmark History of the American People Volume II
by Daniel J. Boorstin, Ruth F. Boorstin
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Lights in the Northwest
by Richard M. Hannula
from Sound Summit Books
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$17.95
Lights in the Northwest - Teacher's Supplement CD-ROM
by Richard M. Hannula
from Sound Summit Books
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$15.95
Lone Star
Perspectives on History Series
by Stephen L. Hardin, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Mexican-American War (Location: HISA-19TEX)
Magna Charta
Landmark Series
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$14.95
Making of American California
by Dorothy Dimmick
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 6th-9th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Mayflower Pilgrims
by Edmund J. Carpenter
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.50
Mexican War
Perspectives on History Series
by William Coleman, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Mexican-American War (Location: HISA-19TEX)
Mystery On Everest
by George Mallory
from National Geographic
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Nation Torn
by Delia Ray
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Now Is Your Time!
by Walter Dean Myers
from HarperCollins
for 7th-10th grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
Of Courage Undaunted
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$17.95
Punic Wars 264-146 B.C.
by Nigel Bagnall
from Osprey Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Reconstruction: Binding the Wounds
Perspectives on History Series
by Cheryl Edwards, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$7.95
Road to San Jacinto
Perspectives on History Series
by Mary Dodson Wade, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Mexican-American War (Location: HISA-19TEX)
Science in Ancient Greece
by Kathlyn Gay
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
Science in Ancient Rome
by Jacqueline Harris
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Search for the Northwest Passage
by Lucile McDonald
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Short History of Ancient Egypt
by T. G. H. James
from Johns Hopkins University Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Spanish-American War
Perspectives on History Series
by Mary Alice Burke Robinson, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Spanish-American War (1898) (Location: HISA-19Span)
Stories of the Nations: Volume 1
by Charles Morris, Sonya Shafer, Lorene Lambert
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 4th-8th grade
in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD)
Stories of the Nations: Volume 2
by Charles Morris, Lorene Lambert
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 4th-8th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Stories of Young Pioneers
by Violet T. Kimball
from Mountain Press
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-11th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$14.00
Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, updated by John Merriman
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, updated and introduced by Robert Sullivan
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from CreateSpace
for 4th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the World - M. B. Synge Collection
by Margaret Bertha Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$59.30
Tall Tales
Tales of the Wild West Volume 13
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Treasure Legends of the West
by Choral Pepper
1st edition from Gibbs M. Smith
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Triumph on Everest
by Broughton Coburn
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Victory in the Pacific
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$13.95
Vietnam War
Perspectives on History Series
by Mitch Yamasaki, ed.
from History Compass
for 6th-9th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$7.95
Vietnam War: How the United States Became Involved
by Dr. Mitch Yamasaki, ed.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Vikings
Landmark Series
by Elizabeth Janeway
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.95
War of 1812
Perspectives on History Series
by Mary Alice Burke Robinson, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
War to End All Wars
by Russell Freedman
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$11.99
West Meets East
by Suzanne Strauss Art
from Pemblewick Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$13.95
Westward Expansion
Perspectives on History Series
by Cheryl Edwards, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
What Really Happened In Colonial Times
by Terri Johnson, editor
from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
What Really Happened In Colonial Times
by Terri Johnson, editor
Revised from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
What Really Happened in Medieval Times
by Terri Johnson, editor
2017 Revision from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
When Buffalo Ran
by George Bird Grinnell
from Hancock House
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Women of the West
Tales of the Wild West Volume 5
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
World of Captain John Smith
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$21.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
World of Columbus and Sons
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
World of Columbus and Sons
by Genevieve Foster, edited by Rea Berg
Edited from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$21.95
World of William Penn
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$14.95
World War I
American War Series
by Zachary Kent
from Enslow
for 6th-9th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Yanks Are Coming
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$13.95 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Year of the Horseless Carriage: 1801
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$10.95