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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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Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Hardcover
Africa Is Not a Country
by Margy Burns Knight
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
Africa Is Not a Country
by Margy Burns Knight
2nd edition from Millbrook Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$10.99
Amazing World Atlas
by Alexa Ward
from Lonely Planet
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized Geography (Location: GEO-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage First Dictionary
Updated from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
American Moments
by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Bruce Strachan
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Answers Book for Kids Volume 1
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Answers Book for Kids Volume 2
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Answers Book for Kids Volume 3
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Answers Book for Kids Volume 4
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Baker Bible Dictionary for Kids
by Daryl J. Lucas
2nd edition from Popular Group
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Baker Bible Dictionary for Kids
by Daryl J. Lucas
1st edition from Baker Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's History of America
One-Syllable series #1
by Josephine Pollard
from Mantle Ministries
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Child's History of Our Naval Heroes
One-Syllable series #4
by Josephine Pollard
from Mantle Ministries
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Child's History of the Battles of America
One-Syllable series #3
by Josephine Pollard
from Mantle Ministries
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Child's History of the Life of George Washington
One-Syllable series #2
by Josephine Pollard
from Mantle Ministries
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Child's History Told in One-Syllable Words - 4 volume set
by Josephine Pollard
from Mantle Ministries
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Childcraft in Fifteen Volumes, 1961 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft in Fourteen Volumes, 1949 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft: The How and Why Library, 1972 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft: The How and Why Library, 1980 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Children's Atlas of the Bible
by Henry Wansbrough
1st edition
for 1st-7th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Encyclopedia of Science
by John Paton, illustrated by John Marshall
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-4th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
Children's First Encyclopedia
by Neil Morris
from Backpack Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eye Wonder: Invention
by Caroline Bingham
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
DK Eye Wonder: Rain Forest
by Helen Sharman
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Jungles & Rainforests (Location: SCI-ECO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewonder: Weather
by Lorrie Mack
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$10.99 $7.00 (2 in stock)
DK First Animal Encyclopedia
Revised from DK Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$17.99
DK First Encyclopedia
by Anita Ganeri & Chris Oxlade
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
DK First Human Body Encyclopedia
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
DK First Human Body Encyclopedia
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
DK First Nature Encyclopedia
by Caroline Bingham & Ben Morgan
from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
DK Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$32.99
DK Nature Encyclopedia
by Caroline Bingham & Ben Morgan
from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
Elephants
Usborne Beginners
by James MacLaine
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
EyeLike Letters
from Play Bac
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
First Book of Pioneers
by Walter Havinghurst
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
First Encyclopedia of Science
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Rachel Firth
from Usborne
for 2nd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
First Thousand Words in German
by Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in German (Location: FL-GEN)
First Thousand Words in Italian
by Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Italian (Location: FL-ITA)
First Thousand Words in Japanese
by Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Japanese (Location: FL-GEN)
First Thousand Words in Latin
by Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Latin Resources & Reference (Location: FL-LATREF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
First Thousand Words in Russian
by Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Russian (Location: FL-GEN)
Golden Book of Space Exploration
by Dinah L. Moche
from Golden Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In God We Trust
by Timothy Crater & Ranelda Hunsicker, illustrated by Drew Rose
from Victor Books
for 1st-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$9.00 (3 in stock)
Introduction to Wild Flowers
by John Kieran, illustrated by Tabea Hofmann
1st edition from Doubleday & Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
3 Rev Upd from Kingfisher
for 2nd-8th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
Little Kids First Big Book of Why
by Amy Shields
from National Geographic
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Lots More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Magnificent Mammals
Marvels of Creation
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$11.19
Medieval Feast
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Children
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
Merriam-Webster's First Dictionary
by Ruth Heller, illustrator
from Merriam-Webster
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
1972 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
My 2 in 1 Picture Dictionary
from Make Believe Ideas
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
My Fellow Americans
by Alice Provensen
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
My First Golden Encyclopedia
by Jane Werner Watson
Fourth Printing from Golden Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
My First Science Book
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Second Picture Dictionary
Ginn Elementary English Series
by Reid, Crane, & Jenkins, illustrated by Tom Cooke and Bea Holmes
from Ginn and Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
My Very First Word Book
by Angela Wilkes
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
My World of Color
by Magaret Wise Brown
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Nest Full of Eggs
by Priscilla Belz Jenkins
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Old Hat New Hat
Bright & Early Books
by Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
One Small Square: Woods
One Small Square
by Donald Silver, Patricia Wynne
1st edition from W. H. Freeman and Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in One Small Square (Location: SCI-1SS)
Rainbow Dictionary
by Wendell W. Wright, assisted by Helene Laird, illustrated by Joseph Low
from World Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Random House Children's Encyclopedia
by Dorling Kindersley Ltd
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Richard Scarry's ABC Word Book
by Richard Scarry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town
by Richard Scarry
from Golden Books
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29
Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
by Richard Scarry
from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Right Word
by Jen Bryant
from Eerdmans
for 1st-4th grade
2015 Caldecott Honor Book, 2015 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.14 $7.60 (1 in stock)
Roget's Student Thesaurus
by Andrew Schiller, William A. Jenkins
Rev Sub from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic Children's Dictionary
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic Children's Dictionary
by Scholastic Inc.
Revised from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic First Dictionary
from Scholastic Reference
for 1st-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sensational Sea Creatures
Marvels of Creation
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$11.19
Still More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Story of Slavery
Usborne Young Reading
by Sarah Courtauld
from Usborne
for 2nd-4th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
1973 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
They Were Strong and Good
by Robert Lawson
from Viking Press
for 1st-3rd grade
1941 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.84
Usborne Big Picture Atlas
by Emily Bone, illustrated by Daniel Taylor
from Usborne
for 1st-4th grade
in Introductory Geography (Location: GEO-INTRO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of World History
by Anne Millard & Patricia Vanags
from Usborne
World History Reference for 2nd-6th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
$17.50 (3 in stock)
Usborne First Dictionary
by Jane Bingham, Rachel Wardley
from Usborne
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne First Guide to the Universe
by Jane Chisholm
from Usborne
for Grades 1st-3rd
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$7.50 (4 in stock)
Usborne Flip-Flap Body Book
by Alastair Smith, Judy Tatchell
from Usborne
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
Usborne Starting Point Science - Volume 1
by Susan Mayes
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Starting Point Science - Volume 1
by Susan Mayes
from Usborne
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Visiting a Village
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
for 1st-5th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
What Do People Do All Day?
by Richard Scarry
from Random House
Richard Scarry Picture Book for K-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29
What Makes it Go? What Makes it Work? What Makes it Fly? What Makes it Float?
by Joe Kaufman
from Golden Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
What's Inside? Boats
What's Inside?
from DK Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
What's the Biggest?
by Barbara R. Fogel, illustrated by Barbara Wolff
from Weekly Reader
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
World of Science
for 2nd-8th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Young People's Bible Dictionary
by Barbara Smith
from Westminster Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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