My Little Man loves geography and culture. He loves learning about how other people live, what they eat, what their day-to-day lives look like. That’s why he jumped at the chance to check out three books from the Carole P. Roman books and collections. Carole P. Roman writes books about kids between the ages of 8 and 15, often from the point of view of a child that age living in another country or another time.
My Little Man couldn’t wait to read If You Were Me and Lived In … Australia. He’s fascinated with life down under and has been practicing his Aussie accent for weeks. We appreciated the broad range of information – from money to food to local animals.
We recently studied India. I really loved the way that If You Were Me and Lived In … India highlighted the differences between American and Indian culture. From the spices used in cooking to the way that popular holidays are celebrated, this book describes the aspects of life that are most familiar to them and shows what they might look like in India.
We’re going to be studying Ancient Greece next fall, and If You Were Me and Lived In … Ancient Greece is the perfect introduction for a new unit. We’re going to be studying the culture, geography, and myths of Greece, and this book discusses them all. It also compares the differences in food and home structures, both of which fascinated my son.
We enjoyed reading these books. There is much to be learned in each one. They provide great overviews for life in their respective countries, and I appreciate the way that each one discusses the aspects of life that are most relevant to kids.
The books that we read are all targeted for kids ages 8-15. I think that’s a bit of a stretch; while the books are fun and contain great information, they definitely mimic the typical picture book – which makes them fabulous for younger kids, but maybe less thorough for older ones. We enjoyed reading them, and each book was a perfect jumping-off point for a study, but we also would have appreciated more depth. As lovers of geography and culture, and with great readers, perhaps we’re a bit picky; when my kids were younger, they would have asked me to read them over and over.
The pictures of the books are clear and colorful. They illustrate the words well and are fun to study. The text is often very large, which would be great for emergent readers trying to follow along with their fingers. The pages themselves are thick and glossy, great for small fingers working to turn them.
I love the way that Roman compared life in each country to American life. It would be fun to try the activities in the book – to try playing cricket in the yard, for example, or to sample the foods in the books – or even to try using new vocabulary words in everyday life. While my older kids don’t get quite so excited about those things anymore, they would’ve giggled and giggled about them a few years ago – and we all would have enjoyed learning and making memories together with these books.
If you have young children, consider grabbing some books from the Carole P. Roman collection and snuggle in for an around-the-world adventure.
