Rating: 
Summary: Terrific, Interesting and Well-Balanced!
Review: If you want your children to know about their heritage, then BUY THESE BOOKS! Don't worry about the person who says it misleads readers about the Native Americans--it doesn't. The original inhabitants of the Americas are highly complimented, with their many achievements described and their staggering variety of lifestyles nicely detailed. Yes, Hakim notes that when hunting became easier for the plains Indians, they tended to waste buffalo meat. She never accuses them of leaving the huge piles of disgracefully-rotting flesh on the prairies. And as much as we might like to think the Indians never wasted a single buffalo bone, well, it's not likely to be the truth. Those hunters were humans and like all humans, when life got easier, wasting became easier too. And to denigrate the entire wonderful series on the basis of one sentence is incredibly narrow-minded. Your children--and you, very likely--will return to this series again and again as the years pass. It's a worthy addition to any home library!
Rating:
Summary: Makes history come alive for young readers.
Review: Joy Hakim clearly understands the subject, and the mind of her audience.In History of US, Joy Hakim skillfully assembles the most relevant parts of history, and presents them in a manner that is both enlightening and entertaining. History of Us is more than the tired recall of wars and dates; it explores the world and minds of people, and provokes questions and interpretations. Well researched, it provides a thoughtfully balanced view of complicated situations, such as the impact of Europeans on the Native Americans, religious expression and intolerance, economics and immigration, and a whole lot more. We used this award winning series as our curriculum guide for a year-long history field trip around the country, and an essential reference for our own website. Both of our kids, 10 and 8, could easily follow the flow of history, and understand the lessons that were presented. Comprehensive, without being exhausting, this is a great work.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional, panoramic kids' introduction to U.S. history
Review: Joy Hakim has accomplished something close to impossible: a readable, thoughtful, even-handed narrative of American history, from the pre-Columbians to the end of the Cold War. The book is fun to read. Hakim tells her stories without stuffiness, pomposity, or self-rightreousness -- and she tells hundreds of stories! Illustrations are almost all from the period being discussed. Marginal comments explain difficult words and concepts. Sidebars print excerpts from diaries, speeches, letters, literature and histories of the time. Hakim relies heavily on biography and anecdote to convey a sense of the times she discusses. She manages to convey a sense of enthusiasm for this country throughout her warts-and-all account of its history. Periodically, she stops to discuss how historians know what they know and to encourage her readers to arrive at their own evaluations.My wife and I started reading this series to our son when he was eight years old. We marvelled at how well it communicated history and its lessons (clear and ambiguous, simple and complex) to him. We found ourselves wishing we'd had books like these when we were first learning U.S. history
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant history curriculum
Review: Joy Hakim's HISTORY OF US series brings history to life for children (and adults), and provides a critical context that typical school texts lack. Its scope and sequence is such that in itself it provides a solid curriculum for grade-school history study. Ms. Hakim's presentation does not pretend to be an unbiased presentation of historical fact; at many points, she "warns" the reader that she's about to deliver HER opinion, and invites the reader to draw his/her own conclustion. Thank you, Ms. Hakim!
Rating: 
Summary: The series that started it all for me!
Review: Ms. Hakim's History of Us collection is what first nurtured my now overwhelming love for history. A rich interpretation of American history, each book presents a new time period in a child-friendly chronological format consisting of brief, focused chapters with sidebars and insets adding definitions, quotes, speeches, letters, diary excerpts, and other documents as deemed appropriate. Fact is set apart from the opinions of historians and the author as thought-provoking questions abound, and everything is retold in such a way that you can imagine being an unsuspecting "fly on the wall" as the events that have shaped our country unfold. Critical parents and educators alike may look down on the politically correct atmosphere the series holds and the biased opinions the author sometimes presents, but the story-telling quality these books possess will have even the most uninterested child turning pages and retaining what is a sometimes excessively brief look into American history. I would recommend this as a great starter course in U.S. history for children of elementary and middle school age, but would most certainly progress into more information-heavy books in hopes that the reader's own independent opinions will not be formed from only what Ms. Hakim shares within her unique interpretations.
Rating:
Summary: As a student
Review: My 8th grade history class started these books back when they first came out in paperback volumes (in fact, I think our first couple were still hardcover) and I can honestly say we had a ball with these texts. I would sit in the car on the way to my riding lessons and just read them like regular books (my history teacher had to keep giving me the next ones early). I'm now a student of history in college and Joy Hakim's series definitely was part of the inspiration for my choice of major, because she proved that history didn't have to be all facts and boring outlines. It could actually be interesting and feel real. Definitely an excellent read for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect American History for Kids
Review: My son and I read through the entire series of books, but skipped most of the sidebars. He is now a confirmed history nut, and I learned many things. We both had a wonderful ride: when my son was asked to bring in his favorite thing for a class picture sesion, he brought one of these volumes. There are a good many facts, set pieces, thumbnail biographical sketches, but the focus is on the highlights, especially as they illustrate the few basic themes that underly who we are. The manner in which these themes recur throughout the series reinforces them and ties everything together. Reductionist yes, but on target for the audience. I was impressed with the evenhanded interpretation of difficult events and people, and ended up feeling strongly that this is the way I want my children to understand our past.
Rating:
Summary: The best treatment of American history of young people
Review: One of those "children's" books you will be reading to yourself after the children are asleep. I first heard about these books through an interview with the author on NPR. I was impressed by how she worked extensively with children to learn what interested them, what worked in telling these stories, and most significantly, her obvious respect for her audience (a pathetically rare quality in K-12 texts). These books communicate effectively to my children (10 and 13) without compromising the complexity, harshness, beauty, and vitality of history. Many "imagine you were..." type examples help put the reader into the history of our nation. I bought one in the series and am now buying the rest.
Rating:
Summary: The best treatment of American history of young people
Review: One of those "children's" books you will be reading to yourself after the children are asleep. I first heard about these books through an interview with the author on NPR. I was impressed by how she worked extensively with children to learn what interested them, what worked in telling these stories, and most significantly, her obvious respect for her audience (a pathetically rare quality in K-12 texts). These books communicate effectively to my children (10 and 13) without compromising the complexity, harshness, beauty, and vitality of history. Many "imagine you were..." type examples help put the reader into the history of our nation. I bought one in the series and am now buying the rest.
Rating: 
Summary: Political correctness hits the middle school.
Review: Our 6th grader just finished using this series of books for his history class. We studied and read it along with him. The series is filled with mushy infomation, not clearly presented either chronologically or factually. Facts and historical perspective are completely lost amidst the heavy burden of political correctness. Like an artifact of today's education, we are planning on putting it in a time capsule to be dug up in the future so others will appreciate what the 90's were like.
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