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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¡Pío Peep!
by Alice Schertle, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy
Bilingual from Rayo
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
¡Viva México!
by Argentina Palacios, illustrated by Howard Berelson
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1, 2, 3, Go!
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
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A is for Africa
by Ifeoma Onyefulu
Reprint from Puffin Books
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A is for Aloha
by U'ilani Goldsberry, illustrated by Tammy Yee
from Sleeping Bear Press
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ABC Book of Early Americana - Coloring Book
by Eric Sloane
2012 Dover from Dover Publications
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$10.95
ABC of Canada
by Kim Bellefontaine
Reprint from Kids Can Press
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Abraham Lincoln
A Rookie Biography
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
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Abraham Lincoln & His Family - Paper Dolls
by Tom Tierney
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$9.99
Abuela
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Adèle & Simon
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Adèle & Simon in America
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Adelita
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Algonquin
by Natalie M. Rosinsky
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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
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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 Our Great Country
for Kindergarten
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$22.00 (3 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
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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
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Anatole
by Eve Titus
Reprint from Dragonfly Books
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1957 Caldecott Honor Book
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$8.99
Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
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$13.95
Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Anno's Britain
by Mitsumasa Anno
1st edition from Philomel Books
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Anno's Italy
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$19.95
Anno's Italy PB
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$14.95
Antarctic Antics
by Judy Sierra
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Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
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$8.99
Arroz Con Leche
by Lulu Delacre
Bilingual from Scholastic Inc.
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At the Crossroads
by Rachel Isadora
1st Mulberry ed from Greenwillow Books
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B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
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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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Bad River Boys
by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
from Holiday House
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken Mochizuki
from Lee & Low Books
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$9.95
Be a King
by Carole Boston Weatherford
from Bloomsbury Publishing
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bee-Bim Bop!
by Linda Sue Park
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Benjamin Franklin Lap-Pak
by Amy Pak
from Home School in the Woods
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in Hands-On History Activity-Paks (Location: HISRF-HOH)
$12.00
Benjamin in the Woods
Wonder Books Easy Reader
by Eleanor Clymer, illustrated by William Russell
from Wonder Books
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
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
Biography of a Rhino
by Alice L. Hopf; illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$44.00 (1 in stock)
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
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Blue Feather's Vision
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Blue Feather's Vision
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Boom Town
by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boxes for Katje
by Candace Fleming
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Boy of the Three-Year Nap
by Dianne Snyder
from Sandpiper Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1989 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bread, Bread, Bread
by Ann Morris
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Food & Farming Around the World (Location: HISMC-FOOD)
Bright Path
by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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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
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
from Puffin Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.99
Buffalo Bird Girl
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Bugle, A Puppy in Old Yorktown
by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Can You Say Peace?
by Karen Katz
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Cassie's Journey
by Brett Harvey; illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Cat Who Walked Across France
by Kate Banks
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred
by Samantha R. Vamos
Reprint from Charlesbridge
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Chang's Paper Pony
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Eleanor Coerr
from HarperCollins
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in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
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 of the Past
by Cecile & Billie Salway
from Garden City Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Children of the World Visuals
for Kindergarten
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$22.00 (1 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)
Chin Chiang and the Dragon's Dance
by Ian Wallace
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes
by Selected and Edited by Robert Wyndham, Illustrated by Ed Young
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Civil War Artist
by Taylor Morrison
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: New World
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Classical Acts & Facts Cards (Location: HISCUR-CC)
$24.99
Color and Learn: Native America
Color & Learn
by Elizabeth Adams
from Educators Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$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 On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coming on Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
2005 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Cornstalks and Cannonballs
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Count Your Way Through Africa
by James Haskins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
Count Your Way through China
by James Haskins, Jim Haskins
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Asia (Location: HISMC-ASIA)
Count Your Way Through Israel
by James Haskins
from First Avenue Editions
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Ancient Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
Count Your Way Through Japan
by Jim Haskins
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Japanese (Location: FL-GEN)
Count Your Way Through Mexico
by James Haskins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Cowboy Small
by Lois Lenski
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cowboys
Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Cricket's Cage
by Stefan Czernecki
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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