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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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Parent Categories
Reference & Learning Aids
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116 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
Africa Is Not a Country
by Margy Burns Knight
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
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)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
$7.99
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
1st edition from Popular Group
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIB-STU)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Beginning Dictionary
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary in Spanish
by P.D. Eastman
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Spanish Resources (Location: FL-SPARE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$42.95
Child's Introduction to Natural History
by Heather Alexander, illustrated by Meredith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$12.00 (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 Encyclopedia of American History
by David C. King
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Children's Encyclopedia of Science
by John Paton, illustrated by John Marshall
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-4th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs
by Jim Arnosky
from Putnam Juvenile
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
DK Eye Wonder: Weather
by Lorrie Mack
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$10.99
DK Eyewitness: Astronomy
by Kristen Lippincott
from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Pond & River
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in River, Pond & Swamp (Location: SCI-ECO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Predator
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewonder: Space
by Carole Stott
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewonder: Space
DK Eyewonder
from DK Publishing
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$10.99
DK First Animal Encyclopedia
Revised from DK Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$17.99
DK First Nature Encyclopedia
by Caroline Bingham & Ben Morgan
from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
DK Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$29.99
DK Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
DK Nature Encyclopedia
by Caroline Bingham & Ben Morgan
from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
Encyclopedia of Our Earth
from Shooting Star Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Eye Wonder: Invention
by Caroline Bingham
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
Eye Wonder: Rocks & Minerals
by Caroline Bingham
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th Grade
in Geology (Rocks & Minerals) (Location: SCI-GEO)
$3.50 (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 the Human Body
by Fiona Chandler
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
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)
First Thousand Words in Russian
by Stephen Cartwright
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Russian (Location: FL-GEN)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$27.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed (old)
by Marilyn Boyer
from Learning Parent
for 3rd-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 12
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book Illustrated Dictionary - 6 volume Set
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of America
by Bruce Catton
Seventh Printing from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
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)
Golden Picture Book of Knowledge
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Imaginaries: Little Scraps of Larger Stories
by Emily Winfield Martin
from Random House
for 3rd-12th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
In God We Trust
by Timothy Crater & Ranelda Hunsicker
from Victor Books
for 1st-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.00 (3 in stock)
In Search of Troy
by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Cross-Sections
by Stephen Biesty
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
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)
It Happened in America
by Lila Perl
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Journeys in Time
by Elspeth Leacock, Susan Buckley
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World
from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher Atlas of World History
by Simon Adams
Revised from Kingfisher
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
3 Rev Upd from Kingfisher
for 2nd-8th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
$34.99
Life in Ancient Rome
by William Crouch
from Crescent Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Lots More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 Elementary Dictionary
from Merriam-Webster
for 3rd-5th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$19.95
More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
1972 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure
by Lila Perl
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$7.50 (2 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)
$5.00 (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 Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$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 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)
New Big Book of U.S. Presidents
by Marc Frey, Todd Davis
from Courage Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
People in History
by Fiona Macdonald, Martin Salisbury (Illustrator)
Reprint from Dempsey Parr
for 2nd-4th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Picture Encyclopedia of the World for Children
by Brian Williams and Lyn Williamson
from Kingfisher
for 1st-4th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Punching the Clock
by Marvin Terban, illustrated by Tom Huffman
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pyramids
by Anne Millard
from Kingfisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rex Barks: Diagramming Sentences Made Easy
by Phyllis Davenport
from Paper Tiger
for 3rd-6th grade
in Miscellaneous Grammar Curriculum (Location: GRA-MISC)
$18.00 (2 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)
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)
$18.99
Scholastic Children's Dictionary
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (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
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Smithsonian Knowledge Encyclopedia
from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Still More Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Story of Mankind - 4 Volume Set
by Olive Beaupre Miller
from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$30.00 (2 in stock)
Story of Mankind Volume 1
by Olive Beaupre Miller
from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Story of Mankind Volume 2
by Olive Beaupre Miller
from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Mankind Volume 3
by Olive Beaupre Miller
from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Story of Mankind Volume 4
by Olive Beaupre Miller
from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Story of Slavery
Usborne Young Reading
by Sarah Courtauld
from Usborne
for 2nd-4th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Tell Me Why
by Arkady Leokum
1973 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
They Were Strong and Good
by Robert Lawson
from Viking Press
for 1st-3rd grade
1941 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
True Stories of Great Men & Women For Young Americans
from W. E. Scull
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Knowledge
by Tony Bremner
from Usborne
for 3rd-8th grade
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$18.00 (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)
$15.75 (2 in stock)
Usborne First Guide to the Universe
by Jane Chisholm
from Usborne
for Grades 1st-3rd
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$6.75 (3 in stock)
Usborne Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia
by Felicity Brooks, Anna Claybourne, eds.
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
Usborne Pocket Nature
by Barbara Cork
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$4.05 (1 in stock)
Usborne Starting Point Science - Volume 1
by Susan Mayes
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$5.40 (1 in stock)
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