Making Thirteen Colonies: A History of US, Book 2

By: Joy Hakim

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

People are coming to America, all kinds of people. If you're European, you come in search of freedom or riches. If you're African, you come in chains. And what about the Indians, what is happening to them? Soon 13 colonies are born, each with its own story. Meet Pocahontas and John Smith in Jamestown. Join William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Sit with the judges at the Salem witch trials. Hike over mountains with Daniel Boone. And let Ben Franklin give you some salty advice in his Poor Richards Almanac.

A History of US is a 10-volume, award-winning series about the birth and development of the United States. Master storyteller and lifelong student of American history Joy Hakim takes readers from 9 to 99 on a breathtaking journey, from the Ice Age to the 21st century.

©1993 Joy Hakim (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

No more time machine - yea

Better than first volume. Hope this bodes well for the upcoming volumes. Volume 9 - the first I read was excellent.

History of Us

Would you listen to Making Thirteen Colonies again? Why?

Yes, works well with my home school children

Any additional comments?

Wish they had the chapters separated but it does hold where you stop so if you start at the beginning of the book you are ok.

Great history for Middle and Upper Schoolers

Adults may enjoy this series too, but it's mostly written for Middle and Upper School kids. Engaging, appropriately comprehensive for teens - highly recommend.

Like Story of the World, but for US History

Would you consider the audio edition of Making Thirteen Colonies to be better than the print version?

Although the audio version necessarily omits the pictures of the print version, the narrator -- and the story telling quality of the writing -- make this an excellent history for kids and teens on audio. Although we bought this for educational purposes, my 11 year old son has asked for this to be played at bed time, and he was not similarly attracted to the print books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, there's a lot to absorb and it isn't a cliffhanger. That said, we did return listening to it night after night, instead of starting a novel.

Any additional comments?

Although this is written at a middle school level, I found it completely enjoyable to listen to as an adult along with my son. It has enough detail that I learned something new every chapter.

Easy to follow

My 9 year old son wanted to learn more about American history. The narrator has a great voice, that is easy to listen to and does well to keep her tone interesting. The story itself is easy to follow. There are concepts or verbiage here and there that my 9 year old does not understand, but overall the author explains most of the large/complex concepts well. It covers a wide range of social and political issues of the time. I would totally recommend this for kids (and adults....who want to listen in)

favorite kid-friendly US history series!

I love reading these books because I'm learning without feeling like I'm studying. I love the narrative style and the questions in the text that make you stop and think. can't wait to read them all!!

Better than Vol. 1

I agree that this is better than Vol. 1. While there are still things that I disagree with, I believe this volume is much more balanced of giving detail and mostly fact with bias left muted, not completely but more than Vol. 1.

worth it

good book, good narrative. it is a little bit of a childrens book but if you are just getting started or are revisiting this topic it's a great book to start with.

This is the WHOLE book-same as print edition

I own the print copy of this book. Contrary to what another reviewer states, this is the whole book, including the
"After Word" at the end regarding cartography. While it is wonderful to have the images in the book, it is a blessing to have this available in audio. We listened to the whole book on a long car ride and learned many things that we hadn't come across in our last 2 years of studying these time periods in American History at an elementary level. We're looking forward to finishing the whole series. A side-note: We did choose to skip listening to Book 1 after hearing a portion of its content. If you are comfortable with speculative evolutionary thought, it may be acceptable to you, but we wanted to get to the meaty history with specific people, places, events, etc. that can be proven. The narrator is clear and has some expression, but we did find it soothing/calming enough that it may cause some drowsiness if listened to on a car ride as we did. Would be perfect for relaxing rest/quiet time at home. Having a dyslexic student, I am very grateful when I can find an audio companion to books we desire to read.

Audio makes these stories come alive!

My 10 year old daughter and I LOVE the Joy Hakim History of US series! The reader's voice is pleasant, and the books really 'come alive' when they're told orally...they're really written as storybooks rather than dry text. One strength of the printed books are the numerous pictures and sidebars, which unfortunately aren't always included in the audiobook. These books make history fun and relevant.