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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591 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
by Catherine O'Neill Grace
from National Geographic
for 4th-6th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln in Peace and War
by Earl Schenck Miers
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$15.99
All Aboard for Freedom
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by E. Harper Johnson, with an introduction by Jan Papanek
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$22.50 (1 in stock)
All Thirteen
by Christina Soontornvat
from Candlewick Press
Daring Rescues for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book, 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 21st Century (Location: HISW-21)
$24.99
Amazon River
by Sangma Francis and Romolo D'Hipolito
from Flying Eye Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1970s
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$33.75 (1 in stock)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.79 $10.00 (2 in stock)
American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
1st edition from Wilfred Funk, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.75 (2 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 12
from Dell Publishing
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
from Dell Publishing
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
from Dell Publishing
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 5
from Dell Publishing
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
from Dell Publishing
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$3.75 (1 in stock)
American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$21.99
American Tall Tales
by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales & Fables for 4th-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
American Yesterday
by Eric Sloane
15th Printing from Funk & Wagnalls
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.50 (1 in stock)
Anastasia
Royal Diaries
by Carolyn Meyer
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Royal Diaries (Location: SER-ROYAL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient China
by Judith Simpson
for 3rd-6th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
by Dr. Paul C. Roberts
from Barnes & Noble
for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$19.99
Apache Land
by Ross Santee
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 5th-8th grade
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$10.50 (1 in stock)
Appomattox
by Burke Davis
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
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$2.63 (1 in stock)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Ark, The
by Margot Benary-Isbert
2021 Revision from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$23.00
Art and Civilization: Ancient Rome
Art and Civilization
by Giovanni Di Pasquale & Matilde Bardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
Roman History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Art of the Southeastern Indians
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Australia
by Gary Lewis
from Peter Antill-Rose
for 6th-12th grade
in Australia & Oceania (Location: HISMC-AU)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Australia: Beyond the Black Stump
by Gary Lewis
from Peter Antill-Rose
for 3rd-Adult
in Australia & Oceania (Location: HISMC-AU)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Bambi
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Girard Goodenow
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bambi
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
by Kelly Devries, et. al
from Metro Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India
by John W. Spellman, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.75 (1 in stock)
Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$24.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant
by Patricia Beatty
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
1st edition
for 4th-7th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Big Golden Book of Christopher Columbus and Other Early Adventurers
by Russell Bourne, illustrated by Thomas LaPadula
from Golden Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest (and best) Flag That Ever Flew
by Rebecca C. Jones, illustrated by Charles Geer
from Tidewater Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
from Hyperion/Madison Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
National Book Award Finalist
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.63 (1 in stock)
Black Symbol
by Annabel & Edgar Johnson
from Harper & Row
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Blades of Freedom
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$15.99
Blizzard!
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
2001 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
for 5th-9th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$24.99
Book of the American Indians
Brown Paper School USKids History
by Marlene Smith-Baranzini & Howard Egger-Bovet
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Boston
from Crescent Books
for 4th-Adult
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$20.99
Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Brooklyn Bridge
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
By the Bridge of a Thousand Ages
by Myrth Bartlett, illustrations by Alice Marie Bartlett and Arthur D. Roberts
from Willing Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.75 (1 in stock)
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
from Southern Publishing Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Caleb's Choice
from Lodestar Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
California Gold Days
by Helen Bauer
1961 Printing from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Canada: Our History
by Rick Archbold
First Printing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Capital
1st edition from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Carrie's War
by Nina Bawden
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Carver: A Life In Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Caught
Missing #05
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Celtic Fairy Tales
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent
from Viking Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
from Clarion Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Child's First Book of American History (hardcover)
by Earl Schenck Miers, James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$42.95
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Encyclopedia of American History
by David C. King
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible
by Laaren Brown & Lenny Hort
Revised Edition from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
China's Long March
by Jean Fritz
from Putnam Juvenile
for 4th-6th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas After All
Dear America
by Kathryn Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Biographies
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Circle of Seasons
by Ann Nolan Clark; illustrated by W. T. Mars
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Citizen's Handbook
by Bethany Poore
from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass Uncle Sam and You (Location: GOV-CURNG)
$25.00
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