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A History of US #2
Making Thirteen Colonies: 1600-1740 A History of US
Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.
All kinds of people are coming to America. If you're European, you come in search of freedom or riches. If you're African, you come in chains. And what about the Indians, what is happening to them? Soon with the influx of so many people, thirteen unique colonies are born, each with its own story. Meet Pocahontas and John Smith in Jamestown. Join William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Sit with the judges at the Salem witch trials. Hike over the mountains with Daniel Boone. And let Ben Franklin give you some salty advice in his Poor Richard's Almanac in this remarkable journey through the dynamic creation of what one day becomes the United States.
About the
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.
All kinds of people are coming to America. If you're European, you come in search of freedom or riches. If you're African, you come in chains. And what about the Indians, what is happening to them? Soon with the influx of so many people, thirteen unique colonies are born, each with its own story. Meet Pocahontas and John Smith in Jamestown. Join William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Sit with the judges at the Salem witch trials. Hike over the mountains with Daniel Boone. And let Ben Franklin give you some salty advice in his Poor Richard's Almanac in this remarkable journey through the dynamic creation of what one day becomes the United States.
About the
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
65 people are currently reading
375 people want to read
About the author
Joy Hakim
141Ìýbooks77ÌýfollowersI've just updated A HISTORY OF US to include some new stories, especially those on people who haven't had their full story told, like Native Americans and African Americans. I've been astounded by some of what I've learned, I think you will be too.
My husband and I live most of the year in Colorado. I grew up in Rutland, Vermont and graduated from Rutland High School. I earned a bachelor's degree in government at Smith College, a master's degree in education from Goucher College, as well as an honorary doctorate from Goucher.
I've been a teacher: in Syracuse, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. And I've taught in elementary school, middle school, high school, and in a community college.
I've also been a newspaper woman: a general reporter, a business reporter, and an associate editor and editorial writer at Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot.
We have three children and five grandchildren.
from:
My husband and I live most of the year in Colorado. I grew up in Rutland, Vermont and graduated from Rutland High School. I earned a bachelor's degree in government at Smith College, a master's degree in education from Goucher College, as well as an honorary doctorate from Goucher.
I've been a teacher: in Syracuse, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. And I've taught in elementary school, middle school, high school, and in a community college.
I've also been a newspaper woman: a general reporter, a business reporter, and an associate editor and editorial writer at Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot.
We have three children and five grandchildren.
from:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
December 26, 2018
Another excellent history & she didn't skip around quite so much in time. It's certainly not complete, but it gives an excellent outline of the various events forming the 13 colonies of the US including those outside that drove people here. Again, she places events in their proper context covering the economic, religious, & political forces of the day. I was particularly glad she covered something about the practices of apprenticeship, indenturing, & how slavery came to this land. She also gave a decent account of the Indians & showed how there were good & bad people on both sides. I particularly liked how she handled the religions, giving no more weight to one than another, showing the good & the bad as well as how their practices played out in the New World.
There was only one mention of the time machine that I recall, which was nice. It was a bit silly. She often had good questions that place the reader into the time & place. It's perfect for kids 8 or 10 & up. Even as an adult who has read entire books on some of the subjects, I found her overview really interesting & informative. Sometimes it's too easy to get caught up in one personality, event, or time so I can't see the forest for the trees.
There is some great information at the end of the book, too. She's right, I have a phobia of dates, but her timeline at the end is a good way to quickly summarize & bring it all together.
Very well narrated & highly recommended! It might even be better in print as I believe there are a lot of good illustrations.
There was only one mention of the time machine that I recall, which was nice. It was a bit silly. She often had good questions that place the reader into the time & place. It's perfect for kids 8 or 10 & up. Even as an adult who has read entire books on some of the subjects, I found her overview really interesting & informative. Sometimes it's too easy to get caught up in one personality, event, or time so I can't see the forest for the trees.
There is some great information at the end of the book, too. She's right, I have a phobia of dates, but her timeline at the end is a good way to quickly summarize & bring it all together.
Very well narrated & highly recommended! It might even be better in print as I believe there are a lot of good illustrations.
March 22, 2014
UPDATE: We worked further in this book, to the half way point, and I could not stand it any longer. I have subbed it out of our curriculum, using other books instead. Perhaps the founding of our country was a particularly religious time that this author simply cannot cover? I will attempt later numbered books in the series, but for now this one is "out" and under serious consideration for "sell".
I wish I could give this work 1.5 stars, somewhere between "i did not like it" and "it was okay". Hakim provides a readable and logically undertaken history of the United States. Color illustrations including artifacts and art are arranged with side bars and captions to create a non-linear exploration of each lay out. Questions within the text encourage students to consider what is being covered and, on occasion, to explore tangential topics on their own.
Why didn't we love it? Authors with a Christian bias tend to highlight accomplishments of Christian belief and historical figures without wrestling with the negative. But this author clearly leans the other way, highlighting that religious belief is a source of societal grievance without giving credence to the tremendous contributions of Christians in the narrative or their beliefs that came to adopted by the nation as a whole.
A sidebar from Chapter 12 entitled, "America, Land of the Free" does an admirable job of talking about slavery, but then veers off course trying to explain that Africans have developed civilizations on the continent and made contributions to many societies. I find the Christian explanation that all people are created by God to have relationship with Him far simpler and less prone to debate. I am also at a loss as to why the African slave trade is explained away in a sentence or two.
Reading Chapter 13, which starts, "The times were religious - and angry." was painful. After a brief explanation of the Anglican church which completely skips the larger Reformation movement, the author states, "Except for that matter of control and leadership, the Anglicans and Catholics were much alike, although they didn't think so and often hated and persecuted each other. As I said, the times were not only religious, but also intolerant. People took their differences very seriously. Wars were fought over them" (pg. 51-52). The author doesn't seem to understand the issues, nor care to, and sanctimoniously condemns religious people for fighting over what they believe. Meanwhile, the legitimate conflicts between Indians and settlers are given a much more nuanced treatment, until she introduces Christian belief (see Chapter 11, pg 45-46). Ultimately, she successfully clarifies "... the real problem was a fight for control of land" (pg. 46). Would that she had researched the issues of the Reformation so well!
In the same area of the book, "Giving Thanks" (sidebar, Chapter 14) goes to great lengths to discredit the Plymouth Thanksgiving celebration as the "first" in North America. Detailing other celebrations that have some of the characteristics of that meal, but not all, the author points out "As devout Christians, the Pilgrims gave thanks before each meal. But this was a harvest festival, not, primarily, a celebration of thanks to God." What!?! This is the kind of mental gymnastics/ hair splitting undertaken, and I'm fairly confident the Separatists at the feast would have disagreed with her analysis, since they had risked their lives to come to a land where they might have religious ceremonies in accordance with their conscience. Hopefully this brief example will help demonstrate that while the facts are interesting, the overall presentation is tarnished by the author's hostility to people of faith.
These passages are nagging speed bumps in an otherwise well done work. Adequate to get the job done, but needs additional sources or editing when dealing with people of faith and/ or matters of faith.
I wish I could give this work 1.5 stars, somewhere between "i did not like it" and "it was okay". Hakim provides a readable and logically undertaken history of the United States. Color illustrations including artifacts and art are arranged with side bars and captions to create a non-linear exploration of each lay out. Questions within the text encourage students to consider what is being covered and, on occasion, to explore tangential topics on their own.
Why didn't we love it? Authors with a Christian bias tend to highlight accomplishments of Christian belief and historical figures without wrestling with the negative. But this author clearly leans the other way, highlighting that religious belief is a source of societal grievance without giving credence to the tremendous contributions of Christians in the narrative or their beliefs that came to adopted by the nation as a whole.
A sidebar from Chapter 12 entitled, "America, Land of the Free" does an admirable job of talking about slavery, but then veers off course trying to explain that Africans have developed civilizations on the continent and made contributions to many societies. I find the Christian explanation that all people are created by God to have relationship with Him far simpler and less prone to debate. I am also at a loss as to why the African slave trade is explained away in a sentence or two.
Reading Chapter 13, which starts, "The times were religious - and angry." was painful. After a brief explanation of the Anglican church which completely skips the larger Reformation movement, the author states, "Except for that matter of control and leadership, the Anglicans and Catholics were much alike, although they didn't think so and often hated and persecuted each other. As I said, the times were not only religious, but also intolerant. People took their differences very seriously. Wars were fought over them" (pg. 51-52). The author doesn't seem to understand the issues, nor care to, and sanctimoniously condemns religious people for fighting over what they believe. Meanwhile, the legitimate conflicts between Indians and settlers are given a much more nuanced treatment, until she introduces Christian belief (see Chapter 11, pg 45-46). Ultimately, she successfully clarifies "... the real problem was a fight for control of land" (pg. 46). Would that she had researched the issues of the Reformation so well!
In the same area of the book, "Giving Thanks" (sidebar, Chapter 14) goes to great lengths to discredit the Plymouth Thanksgiving celebration as the "first" in North America. Detailing other celebrations that have some of the characteristics of that meal, but not all, the author points out "As devout Christians, the Pilgrims gave thanks before each meal. But this was a harvest festival, not, primarily, a celebration of thanks to God." What!?! This is the kind of mental gymnastics/ hair splitting undertaken, and I'm fairly confident the Separatists at the feast would have disagreed with her analysis, since they had risked their lives to come to a land where they might have religious ceremonies in accordance with their conscience. Hopefully this brief example will help demonstrate that while the facts are interesting, the overall presentation is tarnished by the author's hostility to people of faith.
These passages are nagging speed bumps in an otherwise well done work. Adequate to get the job done, but needs additional sources or editing when dealing with people of faith and/ or matters of faith.
July 20, 2018
Spanning from 1600 to 1740, A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies tells the story of all thirteen of the original colonies with lots of focus on Virginia. There is one random chapter about the Pueblos that doesn’t seem to belong. The book is written in a very (very) conversational tone and is aimed at kids. It is short and superficial, but makes a good addition to further study of that time period. I recommend it for kids around middle school level.
August 24, 2020
Do not support this series of books unless you think children should be taught to empathize with enslavers. The author spends much more space justifying why European settlers were “trapped� into being slaveholders than she does on the experiences of those enslaved. “Slavery was not only terrible for the black slaves � it ruined many white farmers, too.� �(Yeoman farmers could) try to work their own farms. Usually that meant they would become ‘poor whites.� Or they could buy slaves.� “Many white people realized they were trapped in a bad system; they didn’t know how to get out.� “If you were a plantation owner and you freed your slaves, you might become poor. So might your family. What would you do?� (pp. 119-120)
These books also emphasizes positive traits of slaveholders, “To run a plantation well, you need to be intelligent and industrious.� “A plantation owner is like a business executive. He is responsible for the work and the workers (that means food, clothing, housing, and health care)� (pp. 121-122). Appallingly, the author refers to enslaved people as “workers,� as if they were paid for their labor, or had any rights whatsoever.
The author frequently rhapsodizes over the value of freedom sought by European settlers, and writes of America, “No other nation, in the history of the world, has ever provided so much freedom, so much justice, and so much opportunity to so many people,� (Book 1, p. 10), but she chooses to downplay the injustice done to enslaved people through the withholding of their own freedom.
The author never asks the reader to imagine being an enslaved person sold away from their mother to pay off a debt, forced to do grueling labor for no pay, fearful of an uncertain future and traumatized by abuse, nor does she describe the hard choices that THEY faced.
Here is how the author asks readers to imagine themselves as an enslaved girl in North Carolina, “Your house has a front porch� The porch is a nice place to rest on a hot evening. You have your own garden� (Your produce has) made you strong and healthy. You are 11, and you can’t read and never will be taught how. But you can sing and play the banjo, and that makes you popular in church.� (p. 132)
Going further, the author describes the conditions of enslaved people, “Visitors from Europe will say they live better than most peasants in the Old World. (Which is probably why so many European peasants want to come to America.� Astonishingly, this favorable comparison seems to originate from the pro-slavery writings of British botanist Amelia Murray in _Letters from the United States, Cuba, and Canada_, published in 1856. This favorable comparison is rebutted in 1861 by Harriet Jacobs in her own book, _Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl_, after her travels through Europe.
In short, this author presents a biased history of slavery in the United States and does harm by propagating the myths of slavery’s benevolence.
These books also emphasizes positive traits of slaveholders, “To run a plantation well, you need to be intelligent and industrious.� “A plantation owner is like a business executive. He is responsible for the work and the workers (that means food, clothing, housing, and health care)� (pp. 121-122). Appallingly, the author refers to enslaved people as “workers,� as if they were paid for their labor, or had any rights whatsoever.
The author frequently rhapsodizes over the value of freedom sought by European settlers, and writes of America, “No other nation, in the history of the world, has ever provided so much freedom, so much justice, and so much opportunity to so many people,� (Book 1, p. 10), but she chooses to downplay the injustice done to enslaved people through the withholding of their own freedom.
The author never asks the reader to imagine being an enslaved person sold away from their mother to pay off a debt, forced to do grueling labor for no pay, fearful of an uncertain future and traumatized by abuse, nor does she describe the hard choices that THEY faced.
Here is how the author asks readers to imagine themselves as an enslaved girl in North Carolina, “Your house has a front porch� The porch is a nice place to rest on a hot evening. You have your own garden� (Your produce has) made you strong and healthy. You are 11, and you can’t read and never will be taught how. But you can sing and play the banjo, and that makes you popular in church.� (p. 132)
Going further, the author describes the conditions of enslaved people, “Visitors from Europe will say they live better than most peasants in the Old World. (Which is probably why so many European peasants want to come to America.� Astonishingly, this favorable comparison seems to originate from the pro-slavery writings of British botanist Amelia Murray in _Letters from the United States, Cuba, and Canada_, published in 1856. This favorable comparison is rebutted in 1861 by Harriet Jacobs in her own book, _Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl_, after her travels through Europe.
In short, this author presents a biased history of slavery in the United States and does harm by propagating the myths of slavery’s benevolence.
March 3, 2021
Great book for history lessons with my 9 year old. I will admit that at times the author seems to jump about rather than sticking to chronological time but it only takes a second to clarify and we are back on track. The book is rather short for covering 140 years so I do feel the need to supplement the contents with a few biographies, some YouTube videos, and discussions about what we have read. I plan to continue using the series as part of our homeschool curriculum.
I should note that a few times I was mildly disturbed by the authors writings regarding slavery. On one hand slavery is vilified and the author clearly states on multiple occasions that slavery is evil and cruel. However, is there an actual need to point out that not all slave owners where cruel to their slaves (other than buying them in the first place of course) and that many slave owners wanted to abolish the practice but they couldn’t without causing themselves financial harm? Maybe the author wanted to give a “balanced� view of history.
She goes on to make a connection between many slave owners having suffered oppression in their own lives in their home countries and therefore being more capable of sympathizing with their slaves. According to the author “when it came time to write a constitution for our nation, it was the slave owning Virginians who thought and wrote most about freedom. That is the paradox. Why do you think it was so?� Reading that passage very much made me feel like the author was excusing the ownership of human beings. I get she was trying to point out that EVERYONE was doing it and some people did it even though they knew better but let’s not forget they bought and kept human beings as slaves anyway. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I should note that a few times I was mildly disturbed by the authors writings regarding slavery. On one hand slavery is vilified and the author clearly states on multiple occasions that slavery is evil and cruel. However, is there an actual need to point out that not all slave owners where cruel to their slaves (other than buying them in the first place of course) and that many slave owners wanted to abolish the practice but they couldn’t without causing themselves financial harm? Maybe the author wanted to give a “balanced� view of history.
She goes on to make a connection between many slave owners having suffered oppression in their own lives in their home countries and therefore being more capable of sympathizing with their slaves. According to the author “when it came time to write a constitution for our nation, it was the slave owning Virginians who thought and wrote most about freedom. That is the paradox. Why do you think it was so?� Reading that passage very much made me feel like the author was excusing the ownership of human beings. I get she was trying to point out that EVERYONE was doing it and some people did it even though they knew better but let’s not forget they bought and kept human beings as slaves anyway. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
June 17, 2018
I have to admit, I struggled a bit at figuring out what I wanted to say about this, the second in the history series. There were things I really liked about it, and things that irritated me as well. Overall, I think it's going to be a good jumping off point for a history program, and goes more in depth than a lot of programs I've heard in use in the public school system.
I'll start with the negative, just to get it out of the way. The sections are very short. They don't go into terribly much detail and tend to focus on specifics, like the influence of religion in how the colonies were made and developed. Much of the history is well glazed over, only leaving a moment's nods to some significant events in colonial history. It seemed there were particular points of history that were weighted more than others, like the colony of Jamestown and the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the case of Georgia, the founding of the colony was practically no more than a footnote, taking up half the chapter while the rest was focused on westward expansion. There was even a chapter dedicated to time outside the time period claimed by the title to talk about Daniel Boone and his journey through the mountains, which took place after the war promised to be covered on Book 3. There was a lot of moving forward, only to jump back in time, which is logical, to a certain extent because much of these events were going on simultaneously, but it did make it a bit more difficult to follow. Additionally, little time was spent covering how the colonies were governed and operated, instead spending a good deal of time discussing slavery and the influence of slaves on the colonies.
However, taking the note of slavery as a kicking off point, I do think it's good that there is a history book with so much focus on how slave culture impacted the colonies, and focused on the nastiness that was slavery and the salve trade. It could have easily been swept under the rug as a nasty part of history that had to be mentioned, but instead focused on why slavery happened, and pointed out that even dissenters still often owned slaves and didn't give them up, even though they believed slavery was wrong. It's a perspective not often talked about in history books for kids. It is a valuable perspective, and well worth addressing.
Instead of being a deep dive into any of these topics, the book also gave a sampling of the things that were going on at the time, giving the reader a chance to look for other resources if they're interested in more information. A good deal of topics are covered, like the history of John Smith before he went to the colony at Jamestown. There was some background information of what events in Europe were influencing the colonies. I was interested to see how many different countries and cultures the colonists came from, especially given I was taught that the colonists were primarily French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English in "the New World." There was even a smattering of information on the different religions at the heart of some of the more faith-oriented colonies, giving more background than most people seem to know coming out of school.
As a bonus at the end there's some information on cartography which I think is interesting. It does relate to the content of the book and makes for a good appendix resource. Since there are so many references to maps throughout it's good to understand how those maps were made and what the science behind them was, especially in this day and age where everyone has maps right at hand, as close as their computer or phone. I did think it made for an interesting, if brief study.
That being said, I'm only giving it three stars because it wasn't the most balanced book, in my opinion. The heavy focus on slavery and the consistent negative view of specifically the Anglican and Puritan faiths was a little overbearing. Some figures in history were brought up, likely in a setup for the next book, but were promptly dropped (like Benjamin Franklin) and some people were just mentioned for what seemed the sake of mentioning them, like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. As much as it was a dynamic read and I think it was very informative, the focus of the information was so specific that I felt like it wasn't a broad of a view of colonial history as it could have been, skipping out on things that may have helped understand the culture of the colonies for the sake of focusing on the culture of slavery in specific. Don't get me wrong, slavery is an awful thing, and there are all too many stories of cruel treatment of the slaves in the colonies. It is history very much worth mentioning. However, the purpose of the book is to give an overview of history, and I feel like things may have been skimmed over or left out in favor of promoting knowledge of a specific aspect of history.
That being said, we will still be using this book for history next year. I don't have any intentions of replacing it. However, I do feel like I'm going to need to add additional resources that will flesh out the full picture and give a better understanding of what life was like in the colonies beyond slave ownership and strict religious laws.
I'll start with the negative, just to get it out of the way. The sections are very short. They don't go into terribly much detail and tend to focus on specifics, like the influence of religion in how the colonies were made and developed. Much of the history is well glazed over, only leaving a moment's nods to some significant events in colonial history. It seemed there were particular points of history that were weighted more than others, like the colony of Jamestown and the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the case of Georgia, the founding of the colony was practically no more than a footnote, taking up half the chapter while the rest was focused on westward expansion. There was even a chapter dedicated to time outside the time period claimed by the title to talk about Daniel Boone and his journey through the mountains, which took place after the war promised to be covered on Book 3. There was a lot of moving forward, only to jump back in time, which is logical, to a certain extent because much of these events were going on simultaneously, but it did make it a bit more difficult to follow. Additionally, little time was spent covering how the colonies were governed and operated, instead spending a good deal of time discussing slavery and the influence of slaves on the colonies.
However, taking the note of slavery as a kicking off point, I do think it's good that there is a history book with so much focus on how slave culture impacted the colonies, and focused on the nastiness that was slavery and the salve trade. It could have easily been swept under the rug as a nasty part of history that had to be mentioned, but instead focused on why slavery happened, and pointed out that even dissenters still often owned slaves and didn't give them up, even though they believed slavery was wrong. It's a perspective not often talked about in history books for kids. It is a valuable perspective, and well worth addressing.
Instead of being a deep dive into any of these topics, the book also gave a sampling of the things that were going on at the time, giving the reader a chance to look for other resources if they're interested in more information. A good deal of topics are covered, like the history of John Smith before he went to the colony at Jamestown. There was some background information of what events in Europe were influencing the colonies. I was interested to see how many different countries and cultures the colonists came from, especially given I was taught that the colonists were primarily French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English in "the New World." There was even a smattering of information on the different religions at the heart of some of the more faith-oriented colonies, giving more background than most people seem to know coming out of school.
As a bonus at the end there's some information on cartography which I think is interesting. It does relate to the content of the book and makes for a good appendix resource. Since there are so many references to maps throughout it's good to understand how those maps were made and what the science behind them was, especially in this day and age where everyone has maps right at hand, as close as their computer or phone. I did think it made for an interesting, if brief study.
That being said, I'm only giving it three stars because it wasn't the most balanced book, in my opinion. The heavy focus on slavery and the consistent negative view of specifically the Anglican and Puritan faiths was a little overbearing. Some figures in history were brought up, likely in a setup for the next book, but were promptly dropped (like Benjamin Franklin) and some people were just mentioned for what seemed the sake of mentioning them, like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. As much as it was a dynamic read and I think it was very informative, the focus of the information was so specific that I felt like it wasn't a broad of a view of colonial history as it could have been, skipping out on things that may have helped understand the culture of the colonies for the sake of focusing on the culture of slavery in specific. Don't get me wrong, slavery is an awful thing, and there are all too many stories of cruel treatment of the slaves in the colonies. It is history very much worth mentioning. However, the purpose of the book is to give an overview of history, and I feel like things may have been skimmed over or left out in favor of promoting knowledge of a specific aspect of history.
That being said, we will still be using this book for history next year. I don't have any intentions of replacing it. However, I do feel like I'm going to need to add additional resources that will flesh out the full picture and give a better understanding of what life was like in the colonies beyond slave ownership and strict religious laws.
August 5, 2008
Volume Two of A History of US covers the years 1600 through 1740. It's entertaining reading, with plenty of chiding for our forebears over their practice of slavery and religious intolerance.
November 8, 2017
Love using this as a history curriculum for my 8 year old. He loves it! The material may be too much for most children his age
August 16, 2023
No history spine is perfect (and this would've been better if I had the print version to refer to charts, photos, maps, and timelines...but such is living overseas with no libraries) - every author needs to make choices regarding what to include/exclude and how to address things like the intrusion into Native American lands and slavery. I can't say I agreed 100% with the way she chose to represent some issues/events (her worldview is obviously different from mine). However, I think she asked some great questions to launch discussions with my kids, it was written pretty engagingly for my kids' ages, did a good job of weaving together a complicated and varied time in US history, and the great thing about using this at home was I could pause the audiobook and we could talk about things (especially when I thought the audiobook missed the mark in some way). Also we are using this as a spine - not our sole exposure to these historical events, so I don't need this book to meet all my history needs. I do hope to eventually check out the print versions, but for now we will continue with these audiobooks on Hoopla.
January 8, 2018
This whole series has just been great!
What was the most interesting part of this book about John Smith (pre Jamestown) he lived quite a life before he landed in North America!
Also the dates at the end when the author gets cute and says (paraphrase) "Teacher don't make kids memorize dates..it is for information purposes only don't cause headaches. I think it is more important to know details and date ish 1600 ish then exact dates. Although in the book she wanted you to remember 1649... and I remember the date but don't remember why I was suppose to remember it??!
What was the most interesting part of this book about John Smith (pre Jamestown) he lived quite a life before he landed in North America!
Also the dates at the end when the author gets cute and says (paraphrase) "Teacher don't make kids memorize dates..it is for information purposes only don't cause headaches. I think it is more important to know details and date ish 1600 ish then exact dates. Although in the book she wanted you to remember 1649... and I remember the date but don't remember why I was suppose to remember it??!
January 12, 2018
Joy Hakim tells history like a story, with lots of interesting facts and background information, and plenty of snark. I've enjoyed reading this to my 3rd & 5th grade boys. We've had some really good discussions and have done additional research about topics that sparked our curiosity. I can see how the stereotypical conservative Christian homeschooler might not like this series (which dares to question the infallibility of the founding fathers), but it's perfect for my secular approach.
(Recommended by a member of a secular homeschooling group)
(Recommended by a member of a secular homeschooling group)
November 28, 2020
A wonderful history book for children! I liked the multiple perspectives shown and the colloquial, kid-friendly language to get readers to really step back in time. On the other hand, I liked how it didn't brush over serious parts of history, such as slavery, the Triangle Trade, and conflict with American Indians, and American Indian culture in general (various tribes as well as various important people and leaders). Reading this book was a very enjoyable way to refresh my knowledge of the 13 colonies to enrich my teaching. I learned a lot I did not know before!
December 30, 2023
This well written, accessible, unflinching history is reliably honest in presenting the remarkable achievements and ignoble failures of America. Brimming with colorful and well chosen illustrations featuring contemporary images and documents. The whole is marked by painstaking contextualization so that events and people are assessed by the conditions of their times, not our times.
July 10, 2018
(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})
December 5, 2019
There was less time machine jumping around, so I liked it more than vol. 1. Covered the 13 colonies, how different they were depending on who their settlers were, and the various religions that were part of the settlements.
September 23, 2023
An excellent history of the colonial period of the history of what became the United States. I used it to teach my 2 homeschooled children (ages 9 & 10 at the time we finished the book, which spanned 3rd grade and into 4th grade for us). Really good!
November 10, 2017
I simply couldn’t convince my children that they liked reading from this book. Perhaps that’s because I couldn’t be convinced of it either. Sigh. I guess I’m off on another history curriculum hunt.
June 26, 2018
Great short book as part of series of books about US history... I recommend for everyone who wants to learn about US history and doesn't have any prior knowledge ...
April 10, 2019
Great book on early American history. It encompasses not only American but general world history as well. Informative, interesting, and fun.
September 12, 2019
I like how Joy Hakim makes History accessible. How she tries to bring it to life. How she presents it as a story. I would prefer, however, if she left the snarky asides aside from the text.
December 11, 2019
Served as a wonderful text for 5th grade history.
February 10, 2020
A little long at parts but the kids tolerated it enough.
February 8, 2022
Reading in tandem with Zoe.
August 9, 2022
Thought this one was especially good. Liked the level of detail in the stories, which can be hard to find for early America.
July 30, 2024
Enjoyable easy read for learning history. This book is written at about a 6th grade level, so I would definitely consider using it in school. The book gives many facts but is easy to read.
September 2, 2024
I love Hakim’s story-telling writing style.
September 27, 2024
Again, the storytelling helps hold the 8th grader’s interest.
March 4, 2025
I really enjoyed reviewing some history.
November 18, 2016
Review first published on
My third time reading these books. Here is my previous review:
The 2nd book in the History of US series (5th-8th US History text). Well, Jon likes them as much as he likes history at all (which is to say not much) but I will say that I think I was spoiled by the Oxford Ancient Times series. This one just hasn't gripped me, the writing is repetitive in it's simplistic language, and I'm basically just ungripped. I'm sure there are better books out there but the small chapters and easy reading is exactly what Jon needs so I think I'm stuck with it. *sigh* Only 8 more volumes left.
Ok, now that I've had over a year away from the Oxford series and am reading these with a child who is enjoying them, I'm much less cranky with them. I still find the jumping around annoying but that seems to be fairly common with many history books as they try to focus on whatever thing they are currently talking about although I feel that without the context of everything else that was happening at the time there is a lot that gets lost even if you swing back around and try to pick that other stuff up while following a different thread. But maybe that's just me. I am definitely willing to concede that. I will say, these do hold up better next to the high school world history that I am also currently reading.
My third time reading these books. Here is my previous review:
The 2nd book in the History of US series (5th-8th US History text). Well, Jon likes them as much as he likes history at all (which is to say not much) but I will say that I think I was spoiled by the Oxford Ancient Times series. This one just hasn't gripped me, the writing is repetitive in it's simplistic language, and I'm basically just ungripped. I'm sure there are better books out there but the small chapters and easy reading is exactly what Jon needs so I think I'm stuck with it. *sigh* Only 8 more volumes left.
Ok, now that I've had over a year away from the Oxford series and am reading these with a child who is enjoying them, I'm much less cranky with them. I still find the jumping around annoying but that seems to be fairly common with many history books as they try to focus on whatever thing they are currently talking about although I feel that without the context of everything else that was happening at the time there is a lot that gets lost even if you swing back around and try to pick that other stuff up while following a different thread. But maybe that's just me. I am definitely willing to concede that. I will say, these do hold up better next to the high school world history that I am also currently reading.
November 7, 2011
This is the kind of book I wish I would have had as a textbook when I was learning history in school. Engaging conversational tione that draws a reader in. It also talks about all the effects of a historical event, not just an white male American-centric viewpoint. It'd be a great resource for homeschooling a child, or just for anyone who wants to learn what they weren't told about history back when they were in school. This is the second book in series, covering the creation of the original 13 colonies.
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