UNITED STATES AUTHOR · HISTORY · JUVENILE
Joy Hakim
I'm a teacher turned newspaper reporter who decided to write a storyteller's U.S. history. It turned into: A History of US, ten small books published by Oxford University Press. The books begin with the first explorers crossing the Bering Strait, the series ends with Donald Trump. In testimony before the Senate Education Committee American historian David McCullough called the books "superb." People Magazine described me as "the J.K. Rowling of the history world." The books have sold more than 5 million copies. They are intended to cross disciplines and teach reading skills as well as American history. Why should language arts be the sole reading discipline? A Dallas school used the books to teach middle school reading and scores went up 10%. Educator teams at Oxford and Johns Hopkins have done terrific coordinated teaching materials. Freedom: A History of US, is a one-volume US history, companion to a 16-part PBS series of the same name narrated by Katie Couric, with voices by a host of Hollywood figures. This one volume history is available from Social Studies School Services. The Story of Science is a three-book series published by Smithsonian Books with encouragement from the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association). The first volume is Aristotle Leads the Way; the second, Newton at the Cente. They tell of classic science. The third book, Einstein Adds A New Dimension, attempts to explain quantum theory and relativity through stories, so everyone can understand those amazing and very current sciences. Science writer Timothy Ferris said he wished he had them when he was a boy. Educators at Johns Hopkins and Juliana Texley at NSTA developed teaching materials for classroom use (available from NSTA or Amazon). Reading guru Lucy Calkins, of Teachers College, Columbia, has called the books the "gold standard" in the field. They have been translated into Korean and Chinese. The Chinese books recently won an education award in Shanghai. "Free To Believe (Or Not)," tells the tale of religious freedom in America through a series of stories and through original documents. The book was written to help teachers and students handle those often hard to read documents. I'm finishing four small books that put biology into a narrative framework tracking this timely science from Vesalius (Renaissance) to Jennifer Doudna and Emanuelle Carpentier (today's genetics). Right now, I'm writing freebie lessons to read and do at home. They can be found on my website:joyhakim.com. You can also connect with me on Twitter: @joyhakim_joy or at joyhakim@gmail.com.
What's the point of studying history?
— from The First Americans (A History of US #1), 2002
Most acclaimed
The story of science
The Story of Science follows the human quest to learn, an approach to history intended to inspire and inform.. Will the 20th century be remembered for its succession of wars. or for relativity, quantum theory and technological marvels? What is quantum theory? What is relativity? How do we teach those big ideas? Read "Einstein Adds A New Dimension" to find out. "To present a scientific subject in an attractive and stimulating manner is an artistic task, similar to that of a novelist or even a dramatic writer. The same holds for writing textbooks" -Max Born, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and Einstein’s friend, 1968 In this book, readers will look over Albert Einstein's shoulder as he and his colleagues develop a new kind of physics. It leads in two directions: to knowledge of the vast universe and its future (insights build on Einstein's theories of relativity), and to an understanding of the astonishingly small subatomic world (the realm of quantum physics). Students will learn why relativity and quantum theory revolutionized our world and led directly to the explosion of technology we all enjoy. Those two disciplines provide what are perhaps the most important ideas in modern science, maybe of all time.
A History of US
Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text. 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 Erickson, Columbus, and all the early great explorers--Cabot, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Henry the Navigator, and more--in this brilliantly told story of America before it was America. About the Series: 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. Full Series: 1.The First Americans (Prehistory-1600) 2.Making Thirteen Colonies (1600-1740) 3.From Colonies to Country (1735-1791) 4.The New Nation (1789-1850) 5.Liberty for All? (1820-1860) 6.War, Terrible War (1855-1865) 7.Reconstructing America (1865-1890) 8.An Age of Extremes (1880-1917) 9.War, Peace, and All That Jazz (1918-1945) 10.All the People: (Since 1945) NOTE: Years may differ Depending on Edition