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This week I will be reviewing three titles from the books and collections of Carole P. Roman.

Carole P. Roman is a very talented, award-winning children’s book author. She began writing as a dare from one of her son’s! Carole created Captain No Beard based off of an imaginary game she used to play with her grandson.

She has won many awards for her books, far too many to name them all. But a few of them are the Kirkus Star of Exceptional Merit, the NABE Pinnacle Award, the IAN Award, the Moonbeam Award 2014, the National Indie Excellence Award Finalist, and the Shelf Media Outstanding Series Award.

She has since created a number of collections and book series including:

  • Captain No Beard
  • Oh Susannah
  • Bedtime Stories
  • If You Were Me And Lived In…..  An Introduction To Ancient Civilizations Through Time
  • If You Were Me And Lived In…..  A Child’s Introduction To Cultures Around The World
These books are packed full of great facts and information and are beautifully illustrated! Educational children’s books can be such a fun way to explore history and cultures or even just to practice reading.
We received 3 books from the If You Were Me And Lived In….. An Introduction To Ancient Civilizations Through Time collection to add to our home library. Without further ado, let’s dive a little deeper in to these books to see what they’re all about!

If You Were Me and Lived in . . . Viking Europe

The book If You Were Me and Lived in… Viking Europe has 76 pages which includes the main story itself, a list of some Norse Gods, information about some important Vikings in History and a glossary of terms. The pages are beautifully illustrated in an almost cartoon-like style which really catches the attention of my children.
The story is chalk full of fun facts about Viking Europe! For instance, if you were born into a viking family you would be part of one of three classes,  Jarls, Karls or Thralls. Of course the book goes into more detail, describing the different classes. And did you know that vikings gave their guests ale in cups made from animal horns with a pointed bottom? This made it so they either had to drink it all at once or pass their vessel around. We also learned that a viking child would call their mother Moder (mo-der) and that dagmal (dag-mal) was what they called their morning meal.

If You Were Me and Lived in . . . the Middle Ages

The next book that we read was If You Were Me and Lived in the Middle Ages. This one is a whopping 97 pages! Twelve of those pages are a glossary of terms! Did you know that a fletcher (flech-er) was a person who made arrows or that a small tear-dropped shaped string instrument is called a mandore (man-dor)?
The book describes how if you lived in the middle ages, you might live in a motte and bailey castle that your father built, complete with a gatehouse and drawbridge. Did you know that salt was an important and expensive item at that time? If your place at the dining table was near the salt it indicated that you were more important than other people in the household. We all found that very interesting and something we hadn’t learned yet in our study of the middle ages.
Peasants were at the bottom of society and lived in simple huts made from a wooden frame filled with a plaster of animal hair and a clay called wattle and daub.

If You Were Me and Lived in . . . Renaissance Italy

The last book that we had the pleasure of reading is If You Were Me and Lived in… Renaissance Italy. This book is a little smaller than the other two at 54 pages, but still contains so many interesting facts about Renaissance Italy. There is a different illustrator for this book than the previous two, but it still maintains a similar cartoon-like style that our family really enjoys.
Just like the other two books, this one does not disappoint! We discovered some really neat information about renaissance Italy. Some common names for girls were Docle (dohl-chey) and Lisabetta (liz-a-bet-ta). Common boys names were Lorenzo (luh-renz-oh) and Cosimo (coh-zi-mo). We learned about the Medici family and how they owned the largest bank in Europe and supported famous artists. We found it both neat and weird that children drank ale or watered wine with their meals. Everyone knew that drinking water was very dangerous and that you could get all kinds of illnesses from it! The book also talks about why the Renaissance was so important in art and  tells of famous people from that time. And, of course, there is a glossary of terms which is fun to read through as well.
Our whole family really enjoyed these books and how they made learning about ancient civilizations more fun. Because of their length, we didn’t get through them in just one sitting. The kids would ask to read more at bed time, and would beg for one more page before we put the bookmark in! These are winners in our house and have earned their own spots on the bookshelf.

So whether you are studying these time periods, or just want some fun and educational books to read with your family, I highly recommend any and all of Carole P. Romans books!

If you’d like to connect with Carole P. Roman, you can do so at these links:

 

Please use the link below to hear from others who have reviewed more titles from Carole P. Roman’s various series!

Want to read more of my homeschool related reviews? Find them here: Homeschool Reviews