A History of Us: Book 1: The First Americans Prehistory-1600

by Joy Hakim

Book Overview

Thousands of years--way before Christopher Columbus set sail--wandering tribes of hunters made their way from Asia across the Bering land bridge to North America. They didn't know it, but they had discovered a New World. The First Americans is a fascinating re-creation of pre-Columbian Native American life, and it's an adventure of a lifetime! Hunt seals with the Inuit; harvest corn on a cliff-top mesa; hunt the mighty buffalo; and set sail with Leif...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195153200
• ISBN13: 9780195153200
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.6" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great text

Ms. Hakim does a fantastic job of storytelling history. We love her books! Everything in this book, from the pictures and info graphics to the text is selected well and makes diving into history a real adventure.

Better than textbooks

The information in this series of books is very detailed, well researched, and has a fun approachable tone. My only concern is that it might sometimes border on being too flippant. But the report of history is very balanced and it's always asking the reader questions and letting the reader make conclusions about open ended topics.

Another good title in this series

Wonderful for kids to learn but not to long they get bored. Also great for breaking up into sections for unit studies

All kids' books should be this good.

I thought my 4-year-old was only half listening as I read "The First Americans" to her sister (age 6). But the other evening at story time, her face lit up and she begged for "history"! I can give it no higher praise.This volume covers the first 12,000 years--give or take a few millennia--of human life on our continent. Hakim strikes a good balance between outlining the broad sweep of the period, and focusing in on interesting stories, people, and trivia ("fun facts" in my girls' lingo). She doesn't gloss over difficult subjects, such as the massacre of the Aztecs by the Spaniards under Cortés. But she relates these events with balance and sympathy, helping her young readers to understand them from different points of view (in this case the Aztecs; their neighbors who were victims of cruel Aztec rituals; and the Spaniards who wanted Aztec gold, but also were abhorred by Aztec viciousness towards their neighbors). What's more, Hakim openly invites them to think about and even reject her own judgements.She has sparked many good conversations in our household. For instance, she used the example of Cortés to illustrate some tough ethical questions that philosophers debate to this day. I talked about these questions with my daughters, and helped them to express and refine their own thoughts. Then I invited them to think up some other tough questions. My younger one took the cake with "what is 'is'?". She had offered it in jest, but to her surprise I pulled out "Being and Time", one of several big books on my shelf devoted to that very question. She was amused, but quite pleased.No doubt you will find something to disagree with in this, as in any good history. When that happens, do what the author suggests: use it as an opportunity to debate her conclusions with your kids, and sharpen their critical skills. For the rest of it, enjoy a great story well-told. I can hardly imagine a better history for this age group.

Great history book for homeschooling!

I am currently using the first book in The History of US to teach history to my homeschooled children, ages 9 and 6. Written for children, the books tell a story of being a time and space traveller, and visiting chronologically the stages of development of the Unites States. The first book starts in the Ice Age, with Asians crossing the land bridge, and follows up through Native American tribes, ending with explorers from Europe.I'd say these books are probably around a 6th grade reading level, and they are fun, interesting, and capture the imagination as well as teach an awful lot about history. The perspective of the books is that no one view of history is correct, and your child is expected to formulate his/her own ideas about what is right and wrong (for example, about forcing "native americans" to live on reservations.)I highly recommend the first book in the series, and I can hardly wait to finish it up, so we can start in on the next one!