This little book is confined to very simple “reading lessons upon the Form and Motions of the Earth, the Points of the Compass, the Meaning of a Map: Definitions.” 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. An effort is made in the following pages to treat the subject with the sort of sympathetic interest and freshness which attracts children to a new study. A short summary of the chief points in each reading lesson is given in the form of questions and answers. Easy verses, illustrative of the various subjects, are introduced, in order that the children may connect pleasant poetic fancies with the phenomena upon which “Geography” so much depends. It is hoped that these reading lessons may afford intelligent teaching, even in the hands of a young teacher. The first ideas of Geography—the lessons on “Place”—which should make the child observant of local geography, of the features of his own neighbourhood, its heights and hollows and level lands, its streams and ponds—should be conveyed viva voce. At this stage, a class-book cannot take the place of an intelligent teacher. Children should go through the book twice, and should, after the second reading, be able to answer any of the questions from memory. Charlotte M. Mason

Finally, Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography has been completely updated and revised for a modern, secular audience. Includes supply lists, notes for teaching lessons, poems from diverse poets, and digitally enhanced illustrations. No need to edit on the fly, the work has been done for you! Collect your supplies in a handy box, then just open and go. Living Geography for the Primary Grades is sure to become a well-loved addition to your Charlotte Mason elementary homeschool. Includes nonreligious poems from Joseph Schuyler, Eliza Cook, Jane Taylor, Angela Grimke, Fanny Crosby, James McGirt, Valerie Dohren, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Lydia Maria Child, Mary Howitt, Coleridge, King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, Sarojini Naidu, and Langston Hughes.

Venture to twenty-eight cities around the world in this colorfully illustrated collection of maps that take you on a journey through history, culture, and geography. On each page, you’ll visit a different city. And in each city, you’ll explore the metaphorical resonance between the physical metropolis and its inhabitants, history, and culture. In the hands of a creative cartographer, Manhattan is dissected in an anatomical diagram, the streets of Monaco trace the form of a Picasso nude, and the crisscrossing paths of boats on the Bosphorus become the nerves of Istanbul. Travel as you never have traveled before, and revel in the details that define urban life. By laying bare the bone, muscle, and sinew of twenty-eight cities, these maps reveal the unique spirit of each one and shed light on the strange and marvelous ways in which humans interact with the places they call home. Witty and insightful, this book will capture the imaginations of travelers, map enthusiasts, history buffs, and dreamers.

Part of being a child is wondering. This charming book uses easy words and color illustrations to explain to children exactly where they live. Crenshaw starts with a child's room, in his or her home, neighborhood, town, state, and county-then moves out to the planet Earth, the solar system, and the Milky Way. From there, children trace their way home again.

The history of America at sea is presented through the travels of Seabird, a carved ivory gull.

"Offers a singularly courageous, personal account of learning how to pour the poetics of space into the art of life." -- Geografishe Annales B: Human Geography

Discusses the reasons why people live near rivers and how they affect their lives.

What makes a nation happy? Is one country's sense of happiness the same as another's? In the last two decades, psychologists and economists have learned a lot about who's happy and who isn't. The Dutch are, the Romanians aren't, and Americans are somewhere in between... After years of going to the world's least happy countries, Eric Weiner, a veteran foreign correspondent, decided to travel and evaluate each country's different sense of happiness and discover the nation that seemed happiest of all. ·He discovers the relationship between money and happiness in tiny and extremely wealthy Qatar (and it's not a good one) ·He goes to Thailand, and finds that not thinking is a contented way of life. ·He goes to the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and discovers they have an official policy of Gross National Happiness! ·He asks himself why the British don't do happiness? In Weiner's quest to find the world's happiest places, he eats rotten Icelandic shark, meditates in Bangalore, visits strip clubs in Bangkok and drinks himself into a stupor in Reykjavik. Full of inspired moments, The Geography of Bliss accomplishes a feat few travel books dare and even fewer achieve: to make you happier.

Discusses people who live in the Arctic regions of the world and how it affects their lives.