A History of US

Joy Hakim's eleven-volume series does what most history textbooks fail to do: it makes you want to keep reading. Written in a personal, conversational voice with rich primary sources, maps, and photographs, the series takes American history from pre-Columbian times to the modern era in a way that genuinely feels like story rather than recitation. A James Michener Prize winner with over four million copies sold, it's widely used in both public schools and Christian homeschool communities. The honest caveat: Hakim's opinionated narrative voice is a real feature and a real concern depending on your perspective. Her interpretive choices on indigenous history, slavery, and civil rights reflect her own viewpoint, and some conservative families have noted this. The series rewards parents who read alongside their children and are ready to discuss alternate viewpoints.