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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299 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
1, 2, 3, Go!
by Huy Voun Lee
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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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
for 3rd-8th grade
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American Moments
by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Bruce Strachan
from Henry Holt and Company
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Aquila's Drinking Gourd
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Art of the Southeastern Indians
by Shirley Glubok
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Astrid the Unstoppable
by Maria Parr, translated from the Norwegian by Guy Puzey
from Candlewick Press
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Australia: Beyond the Black Stump
by Gary Lewis
from Peter Antill-Rose
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Aztecs & Incas
Sightseers Essential Travel Guides to the Past
by Camilla Reid
Har/Map from Kingfisher
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B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
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Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India
by John W. Spellman, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
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Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant
by Patricia Beatty
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Big Golden Book of Christopher Columbus and Other Early Adventurers
by Russell Bourne, illustrated by Thomas LaPadula
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Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
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Blockade Runners and Ironclads
by Wallace B. Black
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Book of the American Indians
Brown Paper School USKids History
by Marlene Smith-Baranzini & Howard Egger-Bovet
from Little, Brown & Company
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Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
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Brer Rabbit and His Tricks
by Ennis Rees; illustrated by Edward Gorey
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Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
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Bringing in the New Year
by Grace Lin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Brooklyn Bridge
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
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Brothers in Hope
by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Lee & Low Books
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2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bill
by Frank L. Beals, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1959 Edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
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$14.00 (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
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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
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Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
from Southern Publishing Association
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Caleb's Choice
from Lodestar Books
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California Gold Days
by Helen Bauer
1961 Printing from California State Department of Education
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Canada
Discovering Cultures
by Patricia J. Murphy
from Benchmark Books
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Canada: Our History
by Rick Archbold
First Printing
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Capital
1st edition from Atheneum
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Carrie's War
by Nina Bawden
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
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Cathie Stuart
by Nora Tully MacAlvay
1958 2nd Printing from Viking Press
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Celtic Fairy Tales
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent
from Viking Press
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Children from Australia to Zimbabwe
by Anna Rhesa Versola, Maya Ajmera
Revised ed. from Charlesbridge
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Children Just Like Me
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
from DK Publishing
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Children Just Like Me: Celebrations
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
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Children of Foreign Lands
by Elizabeth F. McCrady, verses by Kate Cox Goddard, illustrated by Ninon Macknight
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Children of the Civil War
Picture the American Past
by Candice F. Ransom
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
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Picture the American Past
by Wilma King
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
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Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible
by Laaren Brown & Lenny Hort
Revised Edition from DK Children
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Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes
by Selected and Edited by Robert Wyndham, Illustrated by Ed Young
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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Circle of Seasons
by Ann Nolan Clark; illustrated by W. T. Mars
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
by Mary Dodson Wade
from Enslow
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Colombia
Discovering Cultures
by Sarah De Capua
from Benchmark Books
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
from Franklin Watts
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
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Conrad Elroy, Powder Monkey
by Alvin Robert Cunningham
from Perfection Learning
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Cornstalks and Cannonballs
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
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Cowboy Boots
by Shannon Garst
from Abingdon-Cokesbury Press
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Crossing
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
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Cuba
Discovering Cultures
by Sharon Gordon
from Benchmark Books
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Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
by Paul Erickson
from Clarion Books
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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Dragon Tales
by Celia R. Brines
3rd edition from Pacific Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Emperors and Gladiators
All in a Day's Work
by Anita Ganeri
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
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Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Central America
by Elle Staples & Shannen Yauger
from The Good and the Beautiful
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$9.50 (1 in stock)
First Book Edition of the Star-Spangled Banner
by Francis Scott Key, Richard B. Morris, illustrated by Henry S. Gillette
First Printing from Franklin Watts
for 1st-3rd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
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First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Flaming Arrows
by William O. Steele, Illustrated by Paul Galdone
1st edition from Harcourt
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Follow the Drinking Gourd
by Jeanette Winter
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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$7.50 (2 in stock)
Food and Recipes of Westward Expansion
Cooking Throughout American History
by George Erdosh
1st edition from PowerKids Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$27.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed (old)
by Marilyn Boyer
from Learning Parent
for 3rd-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Forging Freedom
by Hudson Talbott
from Putnam Juvenile
for 3rd-6th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Fort McHenry
Let's Celebrate America
by Joanne Mattern
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Friar and the Knight
by Flora Strousse, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Book Only
My American Journey
by Deborah Hedstrom
from Multnomah Books
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road
by Julius Lester
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome
by Marissa Moss
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Garram the Hunter
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Herbert Best, illustrated by Erick Berry
1939 Edition from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book, Junior Literary Guild
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Gateway Arch
Let's Celebrate America
by Joanne Mattern
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Geronimo: The Last Apache War Chief
by Edgar Wyatt, illustrated by Allan Houser
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Gift from the Mikado
by Elizabeth P. Fleming
from Westminster John Knox Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by Thomas Allen
from Dial Books for Young Readers
Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of America
by Bruce Catton
Seventh Printing from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Golden City
by Neil Waldman
from Atheneum
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$8.00 (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)
Grand Canyon
Let's Celebrate America
by Joanne Mattern
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gristmill
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hands-On History Romans
by Fiona Macdonald
from QEB Publishing
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hat For a Hero
by Laura Bannon
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Historic Williamsburg
Let's Celebrate America
by Joanne Mattern
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Home Crafts (Historic Communities)
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How Children Lived
by Chris Rice, Melanie Rice
for 3rd-5th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
How I Became an American
by Karin Gundisch
from Cricket Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Our Nation Began
Christian Social History Series
by Don Sharkey, Sister Margaret, and Rt. Rev. Msgr. Philip J. Furlong
from W. H. Sadlier
for 2nd-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
How to Be an Aztec Warrior
by Fiona MacDonald
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush
by Tod Olson & Scott Allred
from National Geographic
for 3rd-8th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hudson Taylor
by Ben Alex,
from Victor Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
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