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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692 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
100 Science Experiments
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Georgina Andrews & Kate Knighton
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$10.00 (3 in stock)
19th Century Railway Station
by Fiona MacDonald & John James
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Railroads (Location: HISA-19TRR)
20th Century in America Lap-Pak
from Home School in the Woods
for 3rd-8th grade
in Hands-On History Activity-Paks (Location: HISRF-HOH)
50 States Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 5th-Adult
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$7.96
500 Facts: American History for Kids
from Rockridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Album of Dinosaurs
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
All About America Learning Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-7th grade
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
All Through the Ages
by Christine Miller
3rd edition from Nothing New Press
World History Reference for All grades
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
Alphabet Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
America During Four Wars
by Earl Schenck Miers & Felix Sutton
from Grosset & Dunlap
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
America in the 1960s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1970s
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.79 $8.00 (2 in stock)
American Adventures
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Robert Frankenberg
from Macmillan
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American Adventures Part 1
by Morrie Greenberg
from Brooke-Richards Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$3.50 (5 in stock)
American Adventures Part 2
by Morrie Greenberg
from Brooke-Richards Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
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 Egypt
by Robert Nicholson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek War and Weapons
by Haydn Middleton
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greeks
by Sophie Descamps-Lequime & Denise Vernerey
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient India
People of the Ancient World
by Virginia Schomp
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Romans
People of the Ancient World
by Allison Lassieur
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Ancient Sicily
Monuments Past & Present
by Gaetano Messineo & Emanuela Borgia
from Vision S.R.L.
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$27.00
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)
Antonyms Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$5.00 (2 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
Archaeology Book
by David Down
from Master Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$15.19 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Around the World in 2,000 Pictures
by A. Milton Runyon and Vilma F. Bergane, editors
Revised from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Art and Civilization: Ancient Rome
Art and Civilization
by Giovanni Di Pasquale & Matilde Bardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
Roman History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Art and Civilization: Renaissance
by Paul Procter, Rupert Matthews
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
Art for Children: Renaissance
Art for Children
by Lillo Canto
from Chelsea House Publishing
Art Appreciation for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$20.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of American History
by Rand McNally
from Rand McNally
World History Reference/Atlas for 5th-8th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$12.00
Atlas of American History
from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of American History (old)
by Rand McNally
from Rand McNally
World History Reference/Atlas for 5th-8th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$6.00 (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
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)
Aztecs
Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Berries, Nuts and Seeds
Take-Along Guide
by Diane Burns
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
BFB 50 States Map
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 5th-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$16.95
Bible Atlas
by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
from Rand McNally
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Bible Atlas
by Brian Delf
from Tyndale House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
Bible Atlas & Companion
by Christopher D. Hudson, David Barrett
from Barbour Publishing
for 5th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
Bible Then & Now
by Jenny Roberts
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Bird Watching Answer Book
by Laura Erickson, Illustrated by Pedro Fernandes
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Birthdays of Freedom Book One
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Birthdays of Freedom Book Two
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Blended Structure and Style in Composition
by James B. Webster
2nd edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
Writing Curriculum for 2nd-12th grade
in IEW Resources (Location: WRI-IEWRES)
$35.00
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus with Lester Kaufman & Tom Stern
11th edition from Jossey-Bass
for 6th-Adult
$13.56 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Lester Kaufman and Jane Straus
12th edition from Jossey-Bass
for 6th-Adult
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$20.00
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
Bugs
by Rosie Dickins
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$36.99
Buried In Ice
by John Geiger, Owen Beattie, Shelley Tanaka
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Calendar Quest
by Jennifer Johnson Garrity
from Brimwood Press
for 4th-6th
in Tools for Young Historians (Location: BIBWV-TYH)
Castle
by David Macaulay
from Graphia
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$14.44
Castle Diary
by Richard Platt
from Candlewick Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.99
Castles
by Charles W.C. Oman
illustrated edition from Crown Publishers
for 6th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Cathedral
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1974 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$11.04
Caught'ya Again!
by Jane Bell Kiester
1st edition from Maupin House Publishing
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Child's First Book of American History
by Earl Schenck Miers, James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$28.95
Child's First Book of American History (hardcover)
by Earl Schenck Miers, James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
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 American History
by David C. King
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Children's Night Sky Atlas
by Robin Scagell
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Citizen's Handbook
by Bethany Poore
from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass Uncle Sam and You (Location: GOV-CURNG)
$25.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
City
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$14.99
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)
Collins Children's Encyclopedia of Nature
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Color the Western World
by Marcia Harris Brim
from Brimwood Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Tools for Young Historians (Location: BIBWV-TYH)
$19.00
Complete Rhyming Dictionary
from Dell Publishing
for 1st-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.99
Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study - Complete Set with Introductions Book
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$117.37
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Birds
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$16.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Earth and Sky
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$15.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$16.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Insects
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$18.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Introduction
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$11.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Mammals, Flowerless Plants
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Trees, Garden Flowers
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Wildflowers, Weeds, Crops
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Creative Writer Level 2
by Boris Fishman
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Creative Writer (Location: WRI-CREATE)
$18.95
Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs
by Jim Arnosky
from Putnam Juvenile
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Africa
by Jocelyn Murray
3rd edition from Facts On File
African History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$35.00
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