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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120 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Library Binding, In-Stock Books & Materials
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.80 (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)
Art of the Woodland Indians
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Asian Crafts
by Judith Hoffman Corwin
from Franklin Watts
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in Asia (Location: HISMC-ASIA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Big Wave
by Pearl S. Buck
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Hawk, Sac Rebel
from Chelsea House Publishing
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Bound for America
Great Journeys
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
City! San Francisco
by George Ancona, Shirley Climo
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War
American War Series
by Zachary Kent
from Enslow
for 4th-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
from Enslow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Constitution
American Symbols and their Meanings
by Hal Marcovitz
from Mason Crest Publishers
for 5th-9th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Creating the Constitution: 1787
Drama of American History
by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier
from Benchmark Books
for 5th-8th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Cultural History of Women in America: Finding an Identity
A Cultural History of Women in America: Volume 1
by Alex Woolf
from Chelsea House Publishing
Women's History for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Day It Rained Forever
Once Upon America
by Virginia T. Gross, illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Viking Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Levi
by Elvira Woodruff
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
from Bridgestone Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Fall of Constantinople
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman
from Twenty-first Century Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fire at the Triangle Factory
by Holly Littlefield, illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Jacksons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Lincolns
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Madisons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Washingtons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Geronimo: Apache Freedom Fighter
Native American Biographies
by Spring Hermann
from Enslow
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
Stories of America
by Philippa Kirby
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Going to School During the Civil War: The Union
by Kerry A. Graves, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Going to School in Colonial America
by Shelley Swanson Sateren, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Golden Coyote
by Eileen Thompson, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 5th-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
History Beneath Your Feet: Ancient Rome
by Sean Sheehan
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Houses of Parliament
by Nigel Smith
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
In Search of a Homeland
by Penelope Lively & Ian Andrew
from Delacorte Press
Picture Book/Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Indian Costumes
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Handcrafts
by C. Keith Wilbur
2nd edition from The Globe Pequot Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Indian Winter
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 5th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Indians at Home
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Island Far From Home
by John Donahue
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Italian Children
by Mabel O'Donnell
from Row, Peterson and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
James Longstreet
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Melanie LeTourneau
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jefferson Davis
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by W. Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
John Charles Frémont
by Charles W. Maynard
1st edition from PowerKids Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock: A Signature Life
by Philip Koslow
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Kidnapped
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
$18.70
Legend of Bass Reeves
by Gary Paulsen
from Random House
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Leprechaun Tales
by Kathleen Green; illustrated by Victoria De Larrea
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Let's Discover Canada: Prince Edward Island
by Suzanne LeVert
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lewis and Clark Expedition
We the People
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Life and Times of Buddha
by Mona Gedney
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lighthouses of America
by Mina Lewiton, Illustrated by Howard Simon
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Magellan
by Michael Burgan
from Compass Point Books
for 5th-12th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Mao Zedong's China
by Kathlyn Gay
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 5th-9th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Maryland Colony: Lord Baltimore
Building America
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Master George's People
by Marfe Ferguson Delano
from National Geographic
for 5th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mongols
Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Netherlands
by Ronald Seth
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Europe (Location: HISMC-EUR)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Okolo of Nigeria
by Peter Buckley
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Paradox of Jamestown (1585-1700)
The Drama of American History
by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier
from Benchmark Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Peter Jumping Horse at the Stampede
by Gordon Langley Hall, illustrated by Jennifer Kent
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
Junior World Explorers
by Wyatt Blassingame, illustrated by Russ Hoover
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Printers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days
by Mary Cobb, Illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Red Sea
by Leighton Taylor, photography by Norbert Wu
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Risking it All
Moments in American History
by Anne Souby
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Roman Record
by Paul Dowswell
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
San Domingo
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Lougheed
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Science in Colonial America
by Brendan January
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$5.60 (2 in stock)
Seeds of a Nation - Massachusetts
by Don Nardo
from KidHaven Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention
Events That Shaped America
by Dale Anderson, Sabrina Crewe
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sidney Poitier: Actor
by Carol Bergman
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Sir Francis Drake
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Joy Paige
1st edition from Rosen Central
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
South Town
by Lorenz Graham
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Split History of World War II: Axis and Allies
by Simon Rose
from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Statue of Liberty
by Jennifer Silate
from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Panama Canal
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Barbara Gaines Winkelman
from Children's Press
Non-Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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