Review of Carole P. Roman "If You Were Me and Lived In..." Books

My kids love history. It is probably their favorite subject! Their favorite way to learn, however, is through stories of children who lived in that time. This review is brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com. Carole P. Roman has been creating wonderful, historically-accurate tales of different places and times for a bit. We were able to share four titles with our own kids, and they really enjoyed them!

Which titles did we receive? We reviewed the following:

• If You Were Me and Lived in the Middle Ages (Volume 6)
• If You were Me and Lived in Ancient China: The Han Dynasty 
• If You Were Me and Lived in Elizabethan England (Volume 3)
• If You Were Me and Lived in Viking Europe

Right from the start, my kids commented on the illustrations. Each book has a different style (they have different illustrators.) They are all rich in color and motion. The pictures really added to what the kids were reading about!

What did the kids learn about inside the books? Everything! I was so impressed with the level of details. I can tell that a lot of research was done for these. They most certainly can be used as a formal history guide in your homeschool, but my kids dug right in and started using them for free reading time. They love biographies, so this felt like a really good way to get into the bodies of kids that were living in the different time periods to experience what they were experiencing!

Some fun things that they learned:

• Boys in the Elizabethan era wore skirts like the girls until they were old enough to be "breeched."
• Kids in ancient China played with toys that we still enjoy today. They include marbles, flutes, and rattles made from seeds.
• In the Middle Ages, those who went into battle wore chain mail to protect themselves (made of letter, not envelopes!)

There were so many facts stuffed into these books, I was afraid that perhaps the kids wouldn't keep track of them all. Boy, was I wrong! Kids are like sponges, and they eagerly sucked up all the information as they imagined themselves in each time period.

As a teacher, I really like how these stories were organized. Information in a story form was in the front, but the back contained important lists of prominent figures and a glossary. This was great for when kids are reading independently. They can easily turn to the back when they don't know a word (such as "rush" -- the straw used to sop up dirt on the floor.)

Your kids will ask to read these again and again, even after your "lesson" is over. I really recommend just leaving them for the kids to enjoy at their leisure, however. Some of our favorite ways to learn happen naturally, with good literature lying about.

Find out more about this amazing series (including the books we didn't review yet) at the AwayWeGoMedia website. You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest, Good Reads, and 
Twitter!