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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132 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Hardcover
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
America and Its People
by Laureat Bernard,Ralph Brande, Don Sharkey
from W. H. Sadlier
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
America During Four Wars
by Earl Schenck Miers & Felix Sutton
from Grosset & Dunlap
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
American Heritage Desk Dictionary
5th edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
American Heritage Student Thesaurus
by Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$18.99
American Story
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Anatomicum
Welcome to the Museum
by Jennifer Z. Paxton; illustrated by Katy Wiedemann
from Big Picture Press
for 6th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
by Dr. Paul C. Roberts
from Barnes & Noble
for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, illustrated by Katie Scott
UK Edition from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Arboretum
Welcome to the Museum
by Tony Kirkham, illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Atlas of the Islamic World
by Francis Robinson
from Facts On File
for 9th-Adult
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of United States History
from Hammond World Atlas Corporation
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of World History
2nd edition from Oxford University
for 7th-Adult
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$49.95
Atlas of World History
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of World History
from Parragon Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
Baker Atlas of Christian History
by Tim Dowley, Editor
from Baker Books
for 7th-Adult
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Atlas
by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
from Rand McNally
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Big History Timeline Wallbook
by Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Andy Forshaw
from What on Earth Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Botanicum
Welcome to the Museum
by Kathy Willis; illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 3rd-12th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Castles
by Charles W.C. Oman
illustrated edition from Crown Publishers
for 6th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Character for Life
by Don Hawkinson
for 7th-12th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Christian Life and Character of the Civil United States
by Benjamin F. Morris
from American Vision Press
for 9th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Chronology of the Old Testament w/CD
by Floyd Nolen Jones
from Master Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Battles
by Curt Johnson
1st edition from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Rome
by John D. Clare, ed.
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
CLE English Handbook
by Karen Birt
from Christian Light Education
for 7th-12th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
Colonial Craftsmen and the Beginnings of American Industry
by Edwin Tunis
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-9th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Crossway Illustrated Bible Handbook
by Tim Dowley, editor
from Crossway Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
Dictionary of Latin and Greek Origins
by Bob Moore and Maxine Moore
from Barnes & Noble
for 8th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Shark
by Miranda MacQuitty
from DK Children
for 5th-9th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
DK Smithsonian Universe
by Martin Rees, general editor
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.95
Elements
by Theodore Gray
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 9th-12th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$35.00
Encyclopedia of Animals
from Fog City Press
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Mammals
by Professor David Macdonald, editor
from Barnes & Noble
for 8th-Adult
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Preserved People
by Natalie Jane Prior
1st edition from Crown Publishers
for 4th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
by James Trefil
from Routledge
for 7th-Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of the Horse
by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, ed.
from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Enough About Grammar
by Joe Floren
from Twain Productions
for 4th-10th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Frontier Living
by Edwin Tunis
1st Edition from HarperCollins
Historical Reference for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Fungarium
Welcome to the Museum
by Esther Gaya (and other contributors), illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Gilded Age: A History in Documents
Pages From History
by Janette Thomas Greenwood
from Oxford University
for 9th-12th grade
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of California From the Days of the Spanish Explorers to the Present
by Irwin Shapiro
from Golden Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Good Fight
by Stephen Ambrose
from Atheneum
WWII Historical Reference for 4th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
Great Heritage
by Katherine B. Shippen, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Guinness Book of Records: 1994
by Peter Matthews, editor
from Facts On File
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
Guinness Book of World Records: 1984
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guinness Book of World Records: 1985
by Norris McWhirter (editor and compiler), David A. Boehm (American editor), Maris Cakars (sports editor), Cyd Smith (assistant editor)
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guinness World Records: 2002
by Antonia Cunningham
from Guinness World Records Ltd
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
Guinness World Records: 2003
by Claire Folkard, managing editor
from Guinness World Records Ltd
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
Guinness World Records: 2005
by Claire Folkard, managing editor
from Guinness World Records Ltd
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
Guinness World Records: 2007
by Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief
from Guinness World Records Ltd
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
Hammond Atlas of the 20th Century
by Richard Overy, ed.
from Hammond World Atlas Corporation
for 8th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest
by Derek Hayes
First Edition from Sasquatch Books
for 4th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
History of the United States and Its People
by Edward Eggleston
1st edition from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 7th-9th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
History of the World
by Plantagent Somerset Fry
from DK Publishing
for 5th-9th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
$39.99
History of US - 11 Volumes (hardcover)
by Joy Hakim
2nd edition from Oxford University
for 5th-9th grade
in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$65.00 (1 in stock)
History of US - 11 Volumes (hardcover)
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
for 5th-9th grade
in Joy Hakim's A History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$138.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book Concise Edition B
by Joy Hakim
Concise from K12
for 5th-9th grade
in Joy Hakim's A History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Revised from Holman Bible Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
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
Insectarium
by Emily Carter and Dave Goulson
from Big Picture Press
for 6th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Jesus' Family Tree
from Rose Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
Journey through the Bible
by V. Gilbert Beers
from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$22.00 (2 in stock)
Journey through the Bible
by V. Gilbert Beers
from Veritas Press
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$35.00
Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
3rd edition from Kingfisher
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$34.99
Landmark History of the American People Volume 1
Landmark Giant #16
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Random House
for 4th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Light and the Glory 1492-1793
by Peter Marshall, David Manuel
Revised Expanded from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Light and the Glory (Location: HISA-LG)
Little History of the World
by E. H. Gombrich
from Yale University Press
for 6th-Adult
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Little Red Writing Book
by Brandon Royal
from Writer's Digest
for 6th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
Made in Heaven
by Ray Comfort, Jeffrey Seto
from Master Books
for 6th-9th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Making of America
by Robert D. Johnston
Reissue from National Geographic
for 6th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Making of America
by Robert D. Johnston
from National Geographic
for 6th-9th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Memory Mechanics
by Gary DeMar
from American Vision Press
for 9th grade-adult
in Research & Study Skills (Location: REF-STUDY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Thesaurus
2nd Ed from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$22.95
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
11th edition from Merriam-Webster
for 9th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$24.95
Merriam-Webster's Desk Dictionary
from Merriam-Webster
for 6th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
Molecules
by Theodore Gray
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 9th-12th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$29.99
Nature Timeline Wallbook
by Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Andy Forshaw
from What on Earth Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Timeline Resources (Location: HISRF-TIM)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
by James Strong
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
New Way Things Work
by David Macaulay & Neil Ardley
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-10th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Oceanarium
Welcome to the Museum
by Loveday Trinick, illustrated by Teagan White
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
from Merriam-Webster
for 6th-9th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
People, Places, Things, Ideas - 4 Volume Set
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$25.60 (1 in stock)
Picturesque Tale of Progress - Volumes 1-8
by Olive Beaupre Miller
Sixth Printing from Book House for Children
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Planetarium
Welcome to the Museum
by Raman Prinja, illustrated by Chris Wormell
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Portland Then and Now
by Linda Dodds & Carolyn Buan
from Thunder Bay Press
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$12.00 (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
Roget's International Thesaurus
by Robert L. Chapman (revised by)
4th Edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Science Timeline Wallbook
by Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Andy Forshaw
from What on Earth Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Timeline Resources (Location: HISRF-TIM)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Speeches that Changed the World
from Quercus
for 6th-Adult
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance
by Edward W. Goodrick, James Strong, Zondervan Publishing
Updated from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
Student Bible Dictionary
by Johnnie Godwin, Karen Dockrey, Phyllis Godwin
from Barbour Publishing
for 5th-12th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Student Science Dictionary
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Student Science Dictionary
by Vali Tamm, ed.
New Updated from Houghton Mifflin
for 8th-12th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$18.95
Sunburnt Africa
by Kent Cottrell
Second Printing from Theda & Emerson Hall
for 6th-Adult
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
Time-Life Understanding Computers -24 Volume Set
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Computer Literacy (Location: SCIREF-COMP)
12