Good Books for Elementary Geography

The shape and motions of the earth are fundamental ideas--however difficult to grasp.

Geography should be learned chiefly from maps, and the child should begin the study by learning

"the meaning of map," and how to use it.

These subjects are well fitted to form an attractive introduction to the study of Geography: some of them should awaken the delightful interest which attaches in a child's mind to that which is

wonderful--incomprehensible. The Map lessons should lead to mechanical efforts, equally delightful. It is only when presented to the child for the first time in the form of stale knowledge
and foregone conclusions that the facts taught in these lessons appear dry and repulsive to him.

So said Charlotte Mason when she wrote her Elementary geography Books.

I'll let you know about some of the books that I have and used with my 8 year old most of which is through Mapwork.

Geography A-Z by Jack Knowlton- He loves this book. We have used it a lot with notebooking pages that helped us sort of solidify and understand the terms. It's actually just a glossary but when we use the text for copywork and draw our own illustration, it helps. We do it once a week.

The Complete Book of Maps and Geography Grade 3 has, I think, 6 or 7 sections(units) the first three of which are about the US states and then the 4th has other countries of North America. It covers mapskills and many things but it does not have anything for World Geography.

The Everything Kids' Geo Book- This one has activities and puzzles on some countries, areas and continents with fact snippets. It is black and white but has really interesting facts which kids might enjoy when they study them in context with more detailed study. It is Not a good stand alone book but it can be fun as an add-on with some solid Geography.

A Child's introduction to the World by Heather Alexander is a cute book with lots of info on many countries. I would recommend it since I have found it useful especially with notebooking. It has nice illustrations and comes with a popup globe and stickers that you need to stick on the globe as you learn more about the places. If the copy of the book is not too old, the stickers will not have dried out. Other than that this is a really interesting book. The pop-up globe is a hit.

The Geography Book: Activities for Exploring, Mapping, and Enjoying Your World You might find this books really interesting and fun with kids. It has a wide range of activities including many things that kids can make and it is also available in printable format.

Maps and Mapping (Science Kids) I have not used this Kingfisher book yet. It is short -just 47 pages and looks really fun. It has beautiful pictures and nice topics.

Maps and Globes (Reading Rainbow Book) I really like this book which is again by Jack Knowlton, the author of the Glossary book.

Geography Centers, Grades 3-4 It is a neat book just like the other Centers by Evan Moor.

All these books work well when used together and alternatelingly, bi ithnillah.:)