Carole P. Roman Books Review

I love books written by Carole P. Roman, so I was over the moon when I was asked to work on a Carole P. Roman books review (and get a fairly large package of her books in the mail!).  We already had five of her books – and I really appreciated being able to fill in the gaps.

In case you’re not familiar with the name or her books, Carole P. Roman has written over fifty educational and fun children’s books.  She writes series, so if you like one, you can check out/buy more in the series. I have to admit, as a parent, I like that.  It’s a no brainer for me, as I already know my kids will like the books (and I will too).

And Carole has more than one series.  She has quite a few in fact.  They include:

• If You Were Me and Lived In… Ancient Time Series. She has separate books for The Middle Ages, Viking Europe, Elizabethan England, Renaissance Italy, the Ancient Mali Empire, Ancient Greece, Colonial America, the American West, Ancient China, Mayan Empire, and MORE.  We love these.
• If You Were Me and Lived In…Country Series. This includes books about Italy, India, Cuba, Mexico, Kenya, Norway, Peru, Russia, South Korea, France, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Israel, India, Mexico, Greece and MORE!  Whew- a lot!  And again, we love these.
• If You Were Me and Lived on …Mars (I have to admit, I don’t know if this is going to be a series, but I hope it becomes one! I’m looking forward to Venus, Saturn, etc. – my daughter will adore them).
• Captain No Beard Series – Carol wrote these books for, and about her grandchildren – the books include moral/character lessons, and they’re downright charming.

Vol 1, An Adventure Tale of a Pirate’s Life, Vol 2, Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience , Vol 3, Stuck in the Doldrums; Vol 4, Strangers on the High Seas…etc.  There are ten books in the series – you can buy the books individually, or the entire set is available on Amazon.  BTW – it’s such a CUTE series, you’ll probably want all ten! We didn’t have any of these before the review – but I really enjoyed them – we’ll definitely be getting more.

• A Nursery Series – Book 1, Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?; Book 2, Rocket-Bye; and Book 3, One to Ten: Squirrel’s Bad Day. Don’t you love Book 1’s title?

• Oh Susannah is her newest series and her first Early Reader Chapter book series. These books look different from her other books (in size and in the number of pages), but they are just as fun.  I’ll be ordering the second book (book 1 came in the review package).

Are you wondering how Carole can be such a prolific author?  Well, the If You Were Me …History and the If You Were Me… Country Series follow a format/template. The history books include info regarding what people ate at the time, what they wore, what your parents would have done for a living, etc.

The books are written directly to the child so rather than writing Mayans bound their children’s heads, reshaping their skull, Carol writes,  Your parents bound your head with two boards when you were a newborn, reshaping your skull so that it looked long and your forehead sloped backward,  They also tied beads in your hair to hang over the center of your forehead to hit your nose, causing your eyes to cross….this really lets kids imagine what it would have been like to live way back when.

As you can tell from the Mayan example, kids (and parents) learn quite a lot from reading these books.  Here are some of the things I learned:

• Viking Europe – walnuts were used to dye clothing; there were no pockets in clothing; you measured your age by the number of winters you lived.
• American West/Great Migration of 1843 – cowboys called settlers names like tenderfoot, pilgrim and greenhorn; you never put on another man’s hat; you never waved to another man while on a horse, you just nodded.
• Renaissance Italy – Feasts included roasted swan and peacocks; people washed their hands in vinegar to prevent disease; women of means wore lead powder on their faces; only important people were allowed to wear fur.
• Kenya – popular boys names include Kiano and Jaramogi; and a favorite food is samosas – I love samosas!
• Poland – The country celebrates  Children’s Day on June 1;  and there is an underground city carved completely from rock salt underneath the Wielicza Salt Mine.
• Italy – the Roman Empire stretched over about 48 modern day countries; Italy celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, to celebrate women’s contributions to culture.
• Cuba – boxing and baseball are very popular – almost every town has a boxing gym.

As mentioned, this info was new to me.  ALL the info was new to my youngest, and he ate it up.  He really enjoyed these books.  In fact, I think the books ignited an interest he didn’t previously have.  Last week his Dad asked, “Where would you like to go next weekend?”  His response?  “Italy”!

Here are most of the books that were part of this review (after I took the pictures, I realized my kids still had a few in their rooms!).

What do I like about the books written by Carole P. Roman and why was I so excited to work on a Carole P. Roman books review?

• The books teach history, promote cultural acceptance, instill a good lesson, and/or teach an important character trait.
• The books make history fun. How often have you heard your kids moan, “History is SO boring!”?
• I like how the history books start. They show you what an area looked like then, and what it looks like today.
• Many of the history books include a section at the back – Famous People of the Time. My son had heard of many of the famous people, but learned about others – and he was interested enough to google for more info!
• The If You Were Me….Country books include a map of the country. Have you noticed that no one teaches geography any more?
• Many of the If You Were Me books (History and Country) include a Glossary, and/or a pronunciation guide.
• Her books are very attractive, with nice wipe-able covers and cute illustrations.
• They’re an easy/quick read since they are relatively small books.
• They’re perfect for reading to your child, for your child reading to you, and they’re perfect for your homeschool library

And guess what?  Almost all of the books by Carole P. Roman have a 4.5 – 5 star rating on Amazon!  50 books – all 5 stars! Carole’s books are some of the most cherished in our household and I don’t see that changing any time soon!

Learn more here: http://www.caroleproman.com/

Did you like the Carole P. Roman review? You can view more reviews by our team of homeschooling parents here: https://howtohomeschool.com/curriculum-reviews