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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377 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Used Books & Materials
100 Science Experiments
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Georgina Andrews & Kate Knighton
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
3-D Engineering
from Nomad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures in Ancient Greece
by Linda Bailey
from Kids Can Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$1.50 (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)
America First updated
by Lawton B. Evans, Updated & Revised by Rachel Lebowitz
from Charlotte Mason Plenary LLC
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
America from the Beginning - Student Manual
by Joshua Franklin, Debbie Lawrence
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-8th grade
in U.S. History Curriculum (Location: HISCUR-US)
$29.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1970s
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$25.00 (1 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 $10.00 (2 in stock)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
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
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 World History
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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 (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Buried In Ice
by John Geiger, Owen Beattie, Shelley Tanaka
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Castle Diary
by Richard Platt
from Candlewick Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
City
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$14.99 $7.50 (2 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)
Cobblestone "Laura Ingalls Wilder: Growing Up on the Prairie"
Volume Seven: Number Two
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$1.50 (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 Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Countries Around the World: New Zealand
by Mary Colson
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in Australia & Oceania (Location: HISMC-AU)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Crusaders, Aztecs, Samurai
by Anne Millard
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$3.15 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $24.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
by Marion Wood
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
by Erica C. D. Hunter
3rd edition from Facts On File
World History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Deepest Lake
by Kris Hirschmann
1st edition from KidHaven Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in River, Pond & Swamp (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
DK Atlas of Exploration
by Anita Ganeri, Andrea MIlls
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Africa
DK Eyewitness Series
by Yvonne Ayo
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
African History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: American Revolution
by Stuart Murray
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
by George Hart
from DK Publishing
Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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: Aztec, Inca & Maya
by Elizabeth Baquedano
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Battle
DK Eyewitness Series
by Richard Holmes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Bible Lands
DK Eyewitness Series
by Jonathan Tubb
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Chemistry
DK Eyewitness Series
by Ann Newmark
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Dance
DK Eyewitness Series
by Michael Tambini
1st edition from DK Publishing
history reference for 4th-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Earth
DK Eyewitness Series
by Susanna Van Rose
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Earth Science (Location: SCI-EARTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Electricity
DK Eyewitness Series
by Steve Parker
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Electricity & Magnetism (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Energy
by Jack Challoner
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Energy, Forces & Motion (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
by Rupert Matthews
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
DK Eyewitness Series
by Rupert Matthews
1st edition from DK Publishing
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Film
DK Eyewitness Series
by Richard Platt
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Horse
by Julie Clutton-Brock
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Horse
DK Eyewitness Series
by Juliet Clutton-Brock
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Knight
DK Eyewitness Series
by Christopher Gravett
from DK Publishing
Middle Ages HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Life
DK Eyewitness Series
by David Burnie
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Science Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Light
DK Eyewitness Series
by David Burnie
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Light & Sound (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Mammal
DK Eyewitness Series
by Steve Parker
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Medieval Life
DK Eyewitness Series
by Andrew Langley
from DK Publishing
Midieval Ages History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.99 $10.00 (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 Eyewitness: Seashore
DK Eyewitness Books
by Steve Parker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Sience Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Seashore & Tidepools (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Viking
DK Eyewitness Series
by Susan M. Margeson
from DK Publishing
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.99 $9.00 (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 Help Your Kids with Language Arts
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
DK Revealed: Ancient Rome
by Peter Chrisp
1st edition from DK Children
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Know Much About American History
by Kenneth C. Davis
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary & Mary Parker
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$11.19 $6.50 (3 in stock)
Early Civilization
Usborne Illustrated World History
by Anne Millard & Jane Crisholm
from Usborne
Ancient History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Earth and Its People Book 2: The Americas
Atwood Geography Series
by Wallace W. Atwood and Helen Goss Thomas
from Ginn and Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Earth and Its People: The United States Among the Nations
Atwood Geography Series
by Wallace W. Atwood
from Ginn and Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Egyptian Mummies - Pop-Up Book
by Milbry Polk, Roger Stewart
1st edition from Dutton Children's Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Egyptian Pyramid
Inside Story
by Jacqueline Morley, Mark Bergin, John James
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Electricity and Magnetism
Usborne Understanding Science
by Eliot Humberstone, Paul-Francis Law & Peter Adamczyk
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Electricity & Magnetism (Location: SCI-PHY)
$2.70 (2 in stock)
Electricity and Magnetism
by Peter Adamczyk, Paul Francis law
from Usborne
for 4th-8th grade
in Electricity & Magnetism (Location: SCI-PHY)
$4.50 (4 in stock)
Electronics
DK Eyewitness Series
by Roger Francis Bridgman and Jack Challoner
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Enchantment of America: New England Country
by Dorothy Wood, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
Second Printing from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Our Earth
from Shooting Star Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$7.50 (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)
Enough About Grammar
by Joe Floren
from Twain Productions
for 4th-10th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Epidemic
by Brian Ward
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Medicine (Location: SCI-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Everything You Need to Ace American History in One Big Fat Notebook
from Workman Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook
from Workman Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework
by Anne Zeman & Kate Kelly
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.50 (3 in stock)
Everything You Need to Know About English Homework
by scholastic
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Everything You Need to Know About Science Homework
by Anne Zeman & Kate Kelly
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Everything You Need To Know About World History Homework
by Anne Zeman & Kate Kelly
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Excavating the Past: Ancient Greece
by Christine Hatt
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$8.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers & Discoverers - 4 Volume Set
from UXL Publishing
biographical encyclopedia for 5th-8th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
Eyes on Adventure: Exploring Natural Disasters
Eyes on Adventure
by Stella Sands
from KidsBooks, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Eyes on Adventure: Exploring Space
Eyes on Adventure
by Leigh Hope Wood
from KidsBooks, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitness: Civil War
by John Stanchack
from DK Children
for 5th-8th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Faith Unfurled
from History Compass
for 4th-8th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.95 $5.57 (1 in stock)
Fandex Family Field Guides: American Indians
by Steven Aronson
from Workman Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$12.95 $7.00 (2 in stock)
Fandex Family Field Guides: Civil War
from Workman Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$10.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
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