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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156 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), Hardcover, In-Stock 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
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
America is....
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Moments
by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Bruce Strachan
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Anno's China
by Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Anno's Italy
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$19.95
Anno's Spain
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Aquila's Drinking Gourd
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$17.99
Bad River Boys
by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Be a King
by Carole Boston Weatherford
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin in the Woods
Wonder Books Easy Reader
by Eleanor Clymer, illustrated by William Russell
from Wonder Books
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in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of a Rhino
by Alice L. Hopf; illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Boxes for Katje
by Candace Fleming
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$19.99
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Brothers in Hope
by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Lee & Low Books
for 1st-4th grade
2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Children from Australia to Zimbabwe
by Anna Rhesa Versola, Maya Ajmera
Revised ed. from Charlesbridge
for 1st-3rd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Children Just Like Me
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$19.99 $8.00 (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)
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)
Choosing Brave
by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
from Roaring Brook Press
for 1st-4th grade
2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
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)
Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
by Mary Dodson Wade
from Enslow
for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.00 (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)
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)
Crow Boy
by Taro Yashima
1972 Printing from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Day on Skates
by Hilda van Stockum
from Bethlehem Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Emmanuel's Dream
by Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exodus
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
Bible Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$21.00
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Fire Stealer
by William Toye; illustrated by Elizabeth Cleaver
from Oxford University
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales
by Jacqueline Onassis, illustrated by Boris Zvorykin
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$6.00 (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
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 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)
Four Feet, Two Sandals
by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka
1st edition from Eerdmans
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Freedom in Congo Square
by Carole Boston Weatherford
2017 Caldecott Honor book, Coretta Scott King Honoree
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Fry Bread
by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
from Roaring Brook Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
God’s Very Good Idea
by Trillia Newbell and Catalina Echeverri
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$16.99
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 Martin Waddell, illustratred by Philippe Dupasquier
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 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)
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1994 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$17.99
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Herd Boy
by Niki Daly
from Eerdmans
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker - Book and CD
by Robbie Robertson, Illustrated by David Shannon
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
How Grace Got Her Name
by Alice Elshoff, illustrated by Jennifer Curtis
from Moonglade Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
from Atheneum
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
I am Sacagawea
Ordinary People Change the World
by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
If the World Were 100 People
by Jackie McCann, illustrated by Aaron Cushley
from Crown Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$17.99
If the World Were a Village
by David J. Smith
1st edition from Kids Can Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In God We Trust
by Timothy Crater & Ranelda Hunsicker
from Victor Books
for 1st-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.00 (3 in stock)
Indian Sleep-Man Tales
by Bernice Anderson, illustrated by Sears Frank
from Bramhall House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Inside-Outside Book of London
by Roxie Munro
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-4th grade
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
from Rizzoli International Publications
for 1st-3rd grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
from Tambourine Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Kids Book of Canada
by Barbara Greenwood
from Kids Can Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Kindle Me a Riddle
by Roberta Karim, Illustrated by Bethanne Andersen
from Greenwillow Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
King's Day
by Aliki
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Klondike Gold
by Alice Provensen
from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Librarian of Basra
by Jeanette Winter
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Listen to the Wind
by Greg Mortenson
Fir from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Humpbacked Horse
by Adapted by Elizabeth Winthrop, Illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
from Clarion Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Long Meg
by Rosemary Minard, illustrated by Philip Smith
from Pantheon Books
for 1st-4th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Magic Brush
by Robert B. Goodman & Robert A. Spicer (adapters), illustrated by Y. T. Mui, edited by Ruth Tabrah
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
by Paul L. Maier
1st edition from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Martin Luther King, Jr
by Carol Hilgartner Schlank, Barbara Metzger, illustrated by John Kastner
from Gryphon House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Me on the Map
by Joan Sweeney, Illustrated by Qin Leng
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Introductory Geography (Location: GEO-INTRO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Meet John F. Kennedy
by Nancy Bean White
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Memory Coat
by Elvira Woodruff, illustrated by Michael Dooling
from Scholastic Press
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mirror
by Jeannie Baker
Bilingual from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$21.99
Misoso
by Verna Aardema
illustrated edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Moonshot
by Brian Floca
Expanded Edition from Atheneum
for 1st-5th grade
2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Librarian Is a Camel
by Margriet Ruurs
from Boyds Mill Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims
by Robert D. San Souci
from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
New England Primer of 1777
by Gary & Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for 1st-4th grade
in Miscellaneous Phonics (Location: PHO-MISC)
$20.00
New Shoes
from First Second
for Preschool-4th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Not Regina
by Christmas Carol Kauffman
Fourth Printing from Pathway Publishers
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Nya’s Long Walk
by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Off to Plymouth Rock! with CD
by Dandi Daley Mackall
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
On the Mayflower
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
Realistic Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1953 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$18.99
Other Side
by Jacqueline Woodson
from Putnam Juvenile
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
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