History of U. S.: The First Americans. (History of U. S.)

Rating:
Summary: An engaging history of the First Americans for young kids
Review: "A History of US" is the story of the history of the United States written especially for children. Author Joy Hakim adopts a decidedly conversational style in her narrative, taking time to offer asides intended to engage young readers in the story being told. "The First Americans" tells the story of the very beginning of the United States, from the development of hundreds of Indian societies to the formation of the first permanent settlements by Europeans. As Hakim tells it, the Native Americans and the African and European explorers faced many conflicts but also enjoyed the exchange of ideas and cultures that helped to create a New World (anyhow, that is what it says on the back cover).

Hakim spends the first several chapters of her book just talking about the idea of studying history before turning to how the first Americans became Indians. Specific chapters are devoted to different tribes, from the Inuit in the north to the Anasazi of the southwest, and from the tribes of the northwest to the eastern forests. In fact, Columbus does not show up until Chapter 15. However, in terms of the European explorations, the emphasis in this volume is clearly on the Spanish, with about a dozen chapters devoted to their exploits and just a few on the French and English. T

Throughout the book there are also short features looking at specific topics like Digging Up Dirt on the Mount Builders, Stories of How the World Began, Tenochtitlan, and Traveling By Canoe and Portage. Most of the pictures in "The First Americans" were drawn during the time the book covers, many by the artists John White, Jacques LeMoyne, and Theodore de Bry. There are also some contemporary black & white photographs of some locations, but the vast majority of illustrations in this book are black & white drawings (i.e., no color photographs).

Since this is the first of ten volumes Hakim gets to adopt a more leisurely pace than you might be accustomed to reading in an American history textbook. But since her goal is to engage young readers with her vivid storytelling this seems an appropriate approach, and without sacrificing substance. There is certainly more about Native Americans in "The First Americans" than anything I read in school. The breadth and depth provided also has the advantage that no matter where a kid is going to school there is a very good chance Hakim talks about tribes from that particular part of the country. But the main strength of this book remains the way she keeps the focus on communicating to children on their level about everything that is in this book.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging history of the First Americans for young kids
Review: "A History of US" is the story of the history of the United States written especially for children. Author Joy Hakim adopts a decidedly conversational style in her narrative, taking time to offer asides intended to engage young readers in the story being told. "The First Americans" tells the story of the very beginning of the United States, from the development of hundreds of Indian societies to the formation of the first permanent settlements by Europeans. As Hakim tells it, the Native Americans and the African and European explorers faced many conflicts but also enjoyed the exchange of ideas and cultures that helped to create a New World (anyhow, that is what it says on the back cover).

Hakim spends the first several chapters of her book just talking about the idea of studying history before turning to how the first Americans became Indians. Specific chapters are devoted to different tribes, from the Inuit in the north to the Anasazi of the southwest, and from the tribes of the northwest to the eastern forests. In fact, Columbus does not show up until Chapter 15. However, in terms of the European explorations, the emphasis in this volume is clearly on the Spanish, with about a dozen chapters devoted to their exploits and just a few on the French and English. T

Throughout the book there are also short features looking at specific topics like Digging Up Dirt on the Mount Builders, Stories of How the World Began, Tenochtitlan, and Traveling By Canoe and Portage. Most of the pictures in "The First Americans" were drawn during the time the book covers, many by the artists John White, Jacques LeMoyne, and Theodore de Bry. There are also some contemporary black & white photographs of some locations, but the vast majority of illustrations in this book are black & white drawings (i.e., no color photographs).

Since this is the first of ten volumes Hakim gets to adopt a more leisurely pace than you might be accustomed to reading in an American history textbook. But since her goal is to engage young readers with her vivid storytelling this seems an appropriate approach, and without sacrificing substance. There is certainly more about Native Americans in "The First Americans" than anything I read in school. The breadth and depth provided also has the advantage that no matter where a kid is going to school there is a very good chance Hakim talks about tribes from that particular part of the country. But the main strength of this book remains the way she keeps the focus on communicating to children on their level about everything that is in this book.