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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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
1, 2, 3, Go!
by Huy Voun Lee
from Henry Holt and Company
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in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
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14 Cows for America
by Carmen Agra Deedy, in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah
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18 Penny Goose
An I Can Read Book Level 3
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1812: The War and the World
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20th Century in America Lap-Pak
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7 Continents: Africa
by Jo Ellen Moore
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
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7 Continents: Australia & Oceania
by Jo Ellen Moore
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A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
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A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
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A is for Africa
by Ifeoma Onyefulu
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Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes
from Betterway Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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ABC Book of Early Americana - Coloring Book
by Eric Sloane
2012 Dover from Dover Publications
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
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Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington
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Abigail Adams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson, illustrated by Betty Fraser
from Garrard Publishing Company
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About Our Flag
by Elinor Rees; illustrated by Jerome W. Bowen
from Melmont Publishers
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Above the Trenches
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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$15.99
Abraham Lincoln
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
1951 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Civil War
by Susan Dye Lee, illustrated by Ralph Canaday
from Children's Press
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Abraham Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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$17.95
Abraham Lincoln
Initial Biography
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln & His Family - Paper Dolls
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
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$9.99
Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Abuela's Weave
by Omar S. Castaneda
Revised ed. from Lee & Low Books
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Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
by Kathleen Connors
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Across the Wide & Lonesome Prairie
Dear America
by Kristiana Gregory
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
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Adèle & Simon in America
by Barbara McClintock
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Adventure to Home
by Robert Wells, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Adventures of King Arthur - Coloring Book
by Arkady Roytman
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Adventures of Lewis and Clark
by Ormonde de Kay, Jr.
from Random House
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Adventures of Lewis and Clark
North Star Books #29
by John Bakeless
from Houghton Mifflin
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Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Lewis & Clark
by Jamie Aramini
from Geography Matters
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Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
by Jamie Aramini
1st edition from Geography Matters
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Adventures of Munford: The Klondike Gold Rush
by Jamie Aramini
1st edition from Geography Matters
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Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
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Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Series 4
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
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Adventures with the Santa Fe Trail
by Dave Webb, illustrated by Phillip R. Buntin
Revised from Kansas Heritage Center
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Africa Is Not A Country
by Margy Burns Knight
unknown from Millbrook Press
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Africa Is Not a Country
by Margy Burns Knight
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African Critters
by Robert Haas
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African Plains - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Diane Gaspas-Ettl
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
African Traveler
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
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African-Americans in the Thirteen Colonies
by Deborah Kent
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
AIO Imagination Station Book #02
by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #03
by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker
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AIO Imagination Station Book #04
by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #05
by Brock Eastman & Marianne Hering
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AIO Imagination Station Book #06
by Marianne Hering & Marshal Younger
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #09
by Marianne Hering, Marshal Younger
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #10
by Marianne Hering, Wayne Thomas Batson
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #11
by Marianne Hering, Wayne Thomas Batson
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #12
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #13
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
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AIO Imagination Station Book #14
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #15
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #16
by Marianne Hering, Paul McCusker
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #17
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #20
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
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AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
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AIO Imagination Station Book #22
by Marianne Hering & Sheila Seifert
from Focus on the Family
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in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
Aircraft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$3.95
Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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$5.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Airplanes of World War I - Coloring Book
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Akiak: A Tale From the Iditarod
by Robert J. Blake
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
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$14.99
Alaskan Wildlife - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Jan Sovak
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Alexander Graham Bell
by Elizabeth MacLeod
from Kids Can Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Alia's Mission
by Mark Alan Stamaty
from Dragonfly Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
All About Aviation
All About Books #51
by Robert D. Loomis
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All Through the Ages
by Christine Miller
3rd edition from Nothing New Press
World History Reference for All grades
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad
On My Own History
by Marlene Targ Brill
from First Avenue Editions
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Alma and How She Got Her Name
by Juana Martine-Neal
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
1966 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$7.99
Amazing Mind of Granville Woods
by Maggie Felsch; illustrated by Kessler Garrity
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amelia Earhart - Coloring Book
by Muriel Earhart Morrissey
from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Beatrice Gormley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.95
America - with CD
from Diana Waring Presents
for 1st-6th grade
in Diana Waring History Revealed (Location: OHIS-DWHR)
America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America Begins
by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Lois Maloy
Revised Edition from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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 Korean War
by KidCaps
from BookCaps
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in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
America in the Time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
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in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of George Washington
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
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in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
America in the Time of Lewis and Clark
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
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in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
America's First Ladies - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Leslie Franz
Revised Edition from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$5.99
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
America's Robert E. Lee
by Henry Steele Commager, illustrated by Lynd Ward
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American Army of Two
On My Own History
by Janet Greeson
Reprint from First Avenue Editions
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
American Fairy Tales
1st edition from Hyperion Books for Children
for 3rd-Adult
American Family of the Colonial Era - Paper Dolls
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Dover Paper Dolls (Location: COL-DOLL)
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