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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218 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, In-Stock Books & Materials
1,001 Things Everyone Should Know About American History
by John A. Garraty
1st edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
1001 Commonly Misspelled Words
by Robert Magnan & Mary Lou Santovec
from McGraw-Hill
for 10th-Adult
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$15.00
50 States Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 5th-Adult
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$7.96
Alphabet Makers
by Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 8th-Adult
in History of Books & Language (Location: HISV-BOOK)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America's Providential History
by Mark Beliles & Stephen McDowell
from Providence Foundation
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$8.00 (6 in stock)
America: The First 350 Years - MP3 CD
by Steve Wilkins
from Covenant Publications
for 7th-Adult
in History Conferences & Lectures (Location: HISRF-CONF)
$25.00
American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
American Covenant
by Marshall Foster
from Mayflower Institute
for 9th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Dictionary
by Houghton Mifflin Company
5th edition from Dell Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$9.99
American Nation
by John D. Hicks
from Riverside Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Art of Fiction
by John Gardner
from Vintage Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Asimov's New Guide to Science
by Isaac Asimov
from Basic Books
for Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 the North American Indian
by Carl Waldman
1st edition from Facts On File
for 9th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Atlas of World History
2nd edition from Oxford University
for 7th-Adult
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$49.95
Basic History of the United States - Complete Set with Teacher's Guide
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-12th grade
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$104.55
Beards' New Basic History of the United States
by Charles A. Beard, Mary R. Beard, and William Beard
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Jesus Read
by Philip Yancey
from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Surveys (Location: XBI-SURV)
$16.99
Bible Study
by Kathleen Buswell Nielson
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$11.00
Bible Then & Now
by Jenny Roberts
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus with Lester Kaufman & Tom Stern
11th edition from Jossey-Bass
for 6th-Adult
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$16.95 $12.00 (2 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)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament
by H. Wayne House
from Zondervan
Biblical Reference for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament
by John Walton
2nd edition from Zondervan
Biblical Reference for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cities of the Biblical World
by LaMoine F. DeVries
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Compact Bible Dictionary
from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Rhyming Dictionary
from Dell Publishing
for 1st-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.99
Cruden's Complete Concordance
by Alexander Cruden
1979 printing from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Debunking Howard Zinn
by Mary Grabar
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$16.00
Deluxe Then and Now Bible Maps
by Rose Publishing
New & Expanded Edition from Rose Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$34.99
Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
by Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, General Editors
from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Discovery of Design
by Donald DeYoung
from Master Books
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
from Gotham Books
Grammar Reference for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$15.00 $7.50 (3 in stock)
Elements of Style
by William Strunk & E. B. White
4th edition from Allyn and Bacon
Writing Handbook for 9th-12th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$9.99
Elements of Style (Illustrated)
by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.
from Penguin Books
for 7th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$18.00
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
by Mark Dunn
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Encyclopedia of Animals
from Fog City Press
for 8th-Adult
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$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 Science and Technology
by James Trefil
from Routledge
for 7th-Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Englishman's Greek Concordance of New Testament
by George V. Wigram
from Hendrickson Publishers
for Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$34.00
Essential Literary Terms
1st edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Essentials of New Testament Greek
by Ray Summers
from Broadman & Holman
for 10th-Adult
in Greek Resources (Location: FL-GRE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
ESV Concise Bible Atlas
by David P. Barrett
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$11.99
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words
by Lawrence O. Richards
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Bible Concordances & Word Study (Location: XBI-CONC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Facts Plus
by Susan C. Anthony
from Instructional Resources Company
for 9th-adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$19.95
Family Word Finder
from Readers Union
for 7th-Adult
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Financial Accounting 2 Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 12th-Adult
in Consumer & Career Math (Location: MATR-CON)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Five Equations that Changed the World
by Michael Guillen
from Hyperion Press
for 9th-Adult
in Math Reference & Teaching Aids (Location: MATR-TA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
From Sea to Shining Sea
by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
from Revell Publishing
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Bible Atlas
Ninth printing from Golden Books
for 8th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Grammar at Work
by Jessie L. Wheeler
from Allyn and Bacon
for Adult
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Grasping God's Word - Workbook
by J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall
3rd edition from Zondervan
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$13.97
Great Britain to 1688 / Great Britain Since 1688
by Maurice Ashley and K.B. Smellie
from University of Michigan Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Growing Up with Dick and Jane
by Carole Kismaric & Marvin Heiferman
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guinness Book of Records: 1994
by Peter Matthews, editor
from Facts On File
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guinness World Records: 2007
by Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief
from Guinness World Records Ltd
for 6th-Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guns, Germs, and Steel
by Jared Diamond
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Halley's Bible Handbook
by Henry H. Halley
Later Printing from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Heritage of Freedom
by Frank Monaghan
from Princeton University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
History and Imagination
by Ronald Vaughan Morris
from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
for Adult
in Miscellaneous History Curriculum (Location: HISCUR-MISC)
$13.50 (1 in stock)
History of the American People
by Paul Johnson
from HarperCollins
for 11th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$22.99
History of the United States
by Alexander H. Stephens
1999 reproduction from American Foundation Publications
for Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of the World - DVD
by Various
from Vision Forum
for 8th-Adult
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Revised from Holman Bible Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Horizontal Line Synopsis of the Gospels
by Reuben J. Swanson
1st edition
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
by Thomas Woods
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How the West Won
by Rodney Stark
from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
for 12th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.00
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
How to Grow in Christ
by Jack Kinneer
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$6.80
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
by Douglas Stuart, Gordon D. Fee
3rd edition from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$16.99 $8.50 (2 in stock)
How To Write a News Article
by Michael Kronewetter
from Grolier Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
How to Write Clearly
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.99
Image of War: 1861-1865 Volume 1
by Jenny Davis
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Imperialism: A History in Documents
by Bonnie G. Smith
from Oxford University
for Adult
in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Incomplete Education
by Judy Jones and William Wilson
3rd edition from Ballantine Books
for Adult
in General Reference (Location: REF-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - 4 Volume Set
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$75.00 (1 in stock)
Journey through the Bible
by V. Gilbert Beers
from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks (Location: XBI-DICT)
$22.00 (1 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
Knowing Scripture
by R. C. Sproul
from InterVarsity Press
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Reference (Location: XBI-REF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
from Encounter Books
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$49.99
Lee's New School History of the United States
by Susan Lee
1995 reprint from Grapevine Publications
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lefties
by Jack Fincher
1993 reprint from Barnes & Noble
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
1st edition from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
2nd edition from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Light and the Glory - Study Guide
Light & the Glory
by Peter Marshall, David Manuel
from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Literary Structure of the Old Testament
by David A. Dorsey
from Baker Academics
in Bible Surveys (Location: XBI-SURV)
$40.00
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)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Lively Art of Writing
by Lucile Vaughan Payne
from Mentor Books
Writing Reference for 10th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$8.99
Living by the Book
by Howard Hendricks, William Hendricks
Revised from Moody Press
for 11th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Macmillan Visual Desk Reference
from Macmillan
for 10th-Adult
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Managerial Accounting Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 12th-Adult
in Consumer & Career Math (Location: MATR-CON)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
by Kate L. Turabian
9th edition from University of Chicago
Writing Reference for 9th-Adult
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Meaning of Everything
by Simon Winchester
Reprint from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.00 (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)
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