Hakim's first published work was the ten-volume A History of US, from Oxford University Press in 1993. The book is written as a narrative history intended for young readers. The Story of Science is co-published by Smithsonian Books and NSTA, the National Science Teachers Association. The first volume, Aristotle Leads the Way was published in 2004; Newton at the Center was published in 2005; and Einstein Adds a New Dimension followed in 2007. A History of US was turned into a 16-part PBS television series. K12 has made an abridged 4 volume Concise Edition of A History of US. Teachers materials to accompany the books are available from the teacher/educator CSOS team at Johns Hopkins University. NSTA has also made teaching materials available on their website. Hakim has had much of her work published as e-books. The 10 volume e-book version of A History of US, text-only e-books from Oxford, is now joined by the 3 volume e-book version of The Story of Science. Aristotle Leads the Way, Newton at the Center, and Einstein Adds A New Dimension have recently been made available as illustrated e-books from the Smithsonian. The recently published Reading Science Stories is an e-book filled with stories of scientific adventurers. Some stories are adapted from The Story of Science, some are new. Free To Believe is an illustrated e-book that tells the story of religious freedom in America..
Recognition
Hakim's books earned her the first James A. Michener Award for Writing by the National Council for Social Studies and two Parents' Choice awards. Now in a revised third and fourth editions, incorporating new materials and corrections, books from A History of US have been recommended to accompany the Common Core curriculum. The books are also used in some home school curricula. In 1995, Pulitzer-prize winning historian David McCullough went before the Senate Education Committee in support of a bill sponsored by Lamar Alexander and Ted Kennedy intended to improve the teaching and learning of history. McCullough gave a scathing attack on the state of textbooks, but cited Hakim's book as an exception: "Joy Hakim's new...multi-volume History of the United States is superb. But others are dismal almost beyond describing.".
Criticism
Hakim's treatment of pre-modern Western history and the New World colonial period in History of Us: Making Thirteen Colonies has been criticized by the president of the Textbook League, William J. Bennetta. In particular, the concept of multiculturalism, including an asserted Chinese influence on European culture in The First Americans, has been criticized by Bennetta for its lack of support by archaeological or historical records. Some older middle school aged students could find the books graded towards a lower level, and therefore frustrating.
