Regional History

Once upon a time, schoolchildren could be expected to know the name of the mountains separating France from Spain, the location of the Nile River, the capitals of all fifty states, and what and where the Pampas could be found. Now, even adults have a hard time naming the most populous city in the U.S. or the countries of Asia. These are, indeed, sad times, and doomed to become sadder if this geographic ignorance is not turned to knowledge.

Without a firm grasp on geography, how can we expect to know anything about history? History is rooted in a sense of place. Why did the Union troops lose the Battle of Cold Harbor? Because they were attacking Confederate fortifications uphill. And if you don't know anything about the Alps, the fact that Hannibal's army crossed them with elephants won't surprise you near as much as it should. Understanding the physical terrain and the demographics of an area are essential to understanding the history of that region.

Which is why studying history by place is such a good idea. There are cultural considerations, of course, and these can be immensely helpful guides in their own right, but simply looking at the lay of the land so to speak will provide a sense of context more abstract boundaries never can. African history, for instance, makes so much more sense if you know what the continent is like.

Even cultures are influenced by geography. Take the United States: some of the most important advances in transportation technology happened within her borders largely due to necessity. The steam engine train was perfected here, automobiles and airplanes were invented here, and in the last few decades we've led the world in space exploration.

It's not that no one traveled before the 19th and 20th century, or outside the North American continent—it's just that because the new nation was so vast, and there were so many natural barriers (the Mississippi River, the Grand Tetons and Great Smokey Mountains, the Mojave Desert), new forms of getting from here to there were not only a good idea, they were a necessity.

There probably isn't one instance in the history of the world in which geography and events weren't directly tied. Certainly this is true for military history, and exploration, and agriculture, but it's also true of ideas and ideologies. Part of the reason slavery was such an important part of Southern culture in the U.S. was that cotton was an immensely growable crop and only armies of slaves could be counted on to get all the work done; in order to justify the use of forced labor, however, a philosophical ethos was developed.

Other instances may be more obscure, but no less true. In France, the mild climate and fertile country led to a series of approaches to thought that emphasized experience and the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake (particularly existentialism); in ancient Greece, the geographical isolation enforced by mountains and seas allowed democratic polity to emerge among the city states.

Geography and history are pretty much Siamese twins, and academic technology has not advanced to the point where they can be separated without risk of life to both. We've organized the subcategories in this section along pretty standard lines (continents, countries, and the like), but standards arise because they work. Explore a region you're unfamiliar with; you're likely to uncover quite a few surprises.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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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¡PĂ­o Peep!
by Alice Schertle, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy
Bilingual from Rayo
for Preschool-1st grade
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1, 2, 3, Go!
by Huy Voun Lee
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A is for Aloha
by U'ilani Goldsberry, illustrated by Tammy Yee
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ABC of Canada
by Kim Bellefontaine
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Abraham Lincoln & His Family - Paper Dolls
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
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$9.99
Abuela
by Arthur Dorros
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Adèle & Simon
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Adelita
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All Aboard! Pacific Northwest
All Aboard!
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All Aboard! Paris
All Aboard!
by Kevin Meyers, Haily Meyers
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All the Colors of the Earth
by Sheila Hamanaka
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Alma and How She Got Her Name
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Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
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1966 Caldecott Medal winner
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$10.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
America is....
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Scholastic Inc.
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American Made: The Colonial Child of 1740
by Marcia Fann
from Great American Coloring Book, Inc.
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Anansi and the Moss-covered Rock
by Eric A. Kimmel
Reprint from Holiday House
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Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
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Anno's Britain
by Mitsumasa Anno
1st edition from Philomel Books
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Antarctic Antics
by Judy Sierra
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Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
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Arroz Con Leche
by Lulu Delacre
Bilingual from Scholastic Inc.
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At the Crossroads
by Rachel Isadora
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B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
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$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
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$17.99
Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
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Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
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Bee-Bim Bop!
by Linda Sue Park
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia
by Jeanette Winter
1st edition from Beach Lane Books
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Big Rain Coming
by Katrina Germein
from Clarion Books
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Biggest Frog in Australia
by Susan L. Roth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$10.99
Birds of Killingworth
by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Birrarung Wilam
by Aunty Joy Murphy & Andrew Kelly, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy
from Candlewick Press
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$7.99
Blossom Comes Home
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
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Boom Town
by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
from Orchard Books
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Boy of the Three-Year Nap
by Dianne Snyder
from Sandpiper Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1989 Caldecott Honor Book
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$7.99
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
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Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bread, Bread, Bread
by Ann Morris
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
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Bright Path
by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
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Bringing in the New Year
by Grace Lin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
by Verna Aardema & Beatriz Vidal
from Scholastic Inc.
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Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
1st edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
from Puffin Books
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in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.99
Bugle, A Puppy in Old Yorktown
by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
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Can You Say Peace?
by Karen Katz
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Cat Who Walked Across France
by Kate Banks
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred
by Samantha R. Vamos
Reprint from Charlesbridge
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Children Around the World
by Donata Montanari
from Kids Can Press
for Preschool-1st grade
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Children of the Earth and Sky
by Stephen Krensky, Illustrated by James Watling
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
Children's Color Book of Jamestown in Virginia
by Priscilla Hunt
from The Dietz Pres, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Color and Learn: Native America
Color & Learn
by Elizabeth Adams
from Educators Press
for Preschool-1st grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Colors of Us
by Karen Katz
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Conejito: A Folktale from Panama
by Margaret Read MacDonald
from August House
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cool Drink of Water
by Barbara Kerley
1st edition from National Geographic
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Count Your Way Through Africa
by James Haskins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
Cowboys
Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Crow Boy
by Taro Yashima
from Puffin Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1956 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
David and Goliath
by Barbara Shook Hazen
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Day on Skates
by Hilda van Stockum
from Bethlehem Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Diary of a Wombat
by Jackie French
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Dim Sum for Everyone!
by Grace Lin
Reprint from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Drum Dream Girl
by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Easter Egg
by Jan Brett
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Eating the Alphabet
by Lois Ehlert
from Voyager Paperbacks
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Edward the Emu
by Sheena Knowles
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
El Chino
by Allen Say
from HMH Books for Young Readers
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Emmanuel's Dream
by Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Empty Pot
by Demi
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99
Everybody Cooks Rice
from First Avenue Editions
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Families Around the World
by Jo E. Moore
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Filipino Friends
by Corazon Dandan-Albano, Liana Romulo
from Tuttle Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales
by Jacqueline Onassis, illustrated by Boris Zvorykin
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99
Five Cent, Five Cent
by Edna Walker Chandler, illustrated Betty Stull
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
For You Are a Kenyan Child
by Kelly Cunnane
from Atheneum
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fortune-Tellers
by Lloyd Alexander, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Fortune-Tellers
by Lloyd Alexander, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Dutton Children's Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Four Feet, Two Sandals
by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka
1st edition from Eerdmans
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Funny Little Woman
by Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent
Reissue from Puffin Books
1973 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.99
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from Emerald Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Gift of the Sacred Dog
by Paul Goble
from Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
God’s Very Good Idea
by Trillia Newbell and Catalina Echeverri
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$16.99
Going Fishing
by Bruce McMillan
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Going to Town
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Going West
by Martin Waddell, illustratred by Philippe Dupasquier
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gonna Sing My Head Off
by Kathleen Krull
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gonna Sing My Head Off
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Allen Garns
First Printing from Scholastic Reference
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hanna's Cold Winter
by Trish Marx & Barbara Knutson
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.95
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
2006th edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
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