There is no hiding that we are a book-loving family. We are currently at that dreaded crossroads of thinning our collections of books or obtaining or building more bookshelves. I love the look of a wall filled with bookshelves (and those shelves filled with books) so you can imagine the way I am leaning. Why then would I ask for more books to bring into our home? Well, when they are some of the best books you and your children have had the pleasure of reading, there really is no question (other than which titles?). Carole P. Roman books & collections are something we will never turn down. Adventurous books are always welcome here! I’m so glad we were able to review books written by Carole P. Roman again. This time around, we selected If You Were Me and Lived In… Peru, If You Were Me and Lived In… Colonial America, and Oh Susannah Color With Me.
The first books we ever read by Mrs. Roman are from the cultural series. Learning about other cultures and geography (and the food!) is a favorite topic here, so I chose If You Were Me and Lived In… Peru to add to our shelves. Within the 27 pages we learned about typical things found in Peru. From common names for both children and parents, to Machu Pichu and terraced farmland on the mountainsides, we read about things we knew, things we had forgotten, and things we didn’t know. From games to toys to food (of course) we found things in common and things we’d like to try.
We also read where Peru is located and a bit about the climate. Even though this series is targeted to elementary age children, all of my children have been picking it up and flipping through the pages. The teen learning Spanish is practicing her accent, while the younger ones are re-reading their favorite parts. They have been trying to convince me it is warm enough to have a water battle Carnival style. We are looking for a good low-carb recipe to make papas rellenas (mashed cauliflower alone isn’t quite working) to make this adventure to Peru complete.
The next adventure, er, book, is one of the historical series, If You Were Me and Lived In… Colonial America. Because we have been studying early Amercian history, this book was read during school time. With 61 pages, we split this over two days to read it all. Opening with a comparison of present-day London with 1620 London, we did more time traveling by looking back a bit further to see why we were leaving England in the first place. After finally arriving in what became New England, we looked at the building of homes and some of daily life in the early days. We read about what clothes were worn, chores done, and of course, food eaten. While there was no new information added to what we were learning, it was much more engaging reading about it all from a child’s point of view. That is one of our favorite things about the books in the If You Were Me and Lived In… series, it is all told from the point of view of a child in that place (and time).
The third wonderful book from Carole P. Roman to review is a companion book to the Oh Susannah series, Oh Susannah Color With Me. Yes, it is a coloring book. Not only does Sarah have fun choosing pictures to color that depict scenes from the books, but it has her pulling the books out to find these sections. What could be just a fun go-along is proving to be a means to silently encourage my budding reader to practice reading on her own. The coloring book is not just pictures to color, but also includes some questions from the book. It’s a great way to spark conversations on those worries and fears brought up in the book. This book will be most enjoyed by those who have read or are reading books in the Oh Susannah series. Not that any of my girls would mind coloring the pages nonetheless.
Carole P. Roman also has a series of bedtime stories, the early reader chapter books (Oh Susannah series), and the Captain No Beard series. These stories are quality, fun literature for all of your young (and not so young) ones. Crew members selected their own titles for this review, so you will find a variety of titles reviewed. Simply click the image to read more reviews.
