We had the opportunity to review physical copies of If You Were Me and Lived in…the American West (Volume 7), If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4), If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2) and If You Were Me and Lived in… Elizabethan England (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 3), which are Brought to you by Carole P. Roman and awaywegomedia.com.
The answer is, “I don’t know.” The question? “What would life be like if you lived during a certain period of time in history?” Well, author Carole P. Roman has the answer for your child in her book additions to her already very popular series “If You Were Me and Lived in…”. She already has a long list of books that includes individual stories and book series. Carol Roman’s writing career was birthed after a dare from one of her sons. I am thinking she was the winner of that dare with now more than 35 book titles to her credit.
She gave reviewers the opportunity to choose two books and then also provided us with two other books of her choice. Wow! Lily chose If You Were Me and Lived in…The American West and If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America. Roman also sent us If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy and If You Were Me and Lived in…Elizabethan England.
The new books take readers, ages kindergarten through around middle school, on a journey across the world visiting and learning about different periods of time in history.
The series allows your child to “visit” a certain period of time and learn about how other children lived in that period. Readers learn about the experiences of the children – common activities, life styles, family, culture and foods. Roman also introduces the child to notable people and a lot of vocabulary that was used during those periods.
Although the books do not go into depth, they provide a younger child a very good overview of what it may look like for them if they lived during any of those periods; taking into consideration that does not include children of color.
At the end of each book is a glossary that reviews many of the cultural words that are introduced in the story. There is even a breakdown of the sounds of each word to be sure you are pronouncing it according to the period from which it derives.
We are currently studying American History, so the If You Were Me and Lived in…The American West and If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America have been good resources. River and Lily read the books independently and Canyon and I read through the books together. As a group, we discussed some of the vocabulary words and reviewed some of the people from the time periods. There were many people who were already familiar to us. We also discussed some of the cultural differences (and similarities).
Some things we learned:
If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America
1) The Mayflower was not the only ship bringing settlers to a new land. The second ship was called The Speedwell, which had to return to Europe due to leaks.
2) The Mayflower was originally headed to the Hudson River in New York, but was rerouted to New England due to bad weather.
If You Were Me and Lived in…American West
1) Cowboys actually earned $25 a month.
2) Butter could be made by hanging a pail of milk on the wagon. The bouncing of the wagon would be enough to “churn” milk into butter.
If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy
1) Clothes were a display of the financial status of your family (Hmm. That sounds similar to some thinking today.)
2) Unions existed as early as during the Renaissance period to protect both workers and patrons, by regulating prices.
If You Were Me and Lived in…Elizabethan England
1) Girls did not go to school, but instead stayed home to learn manners and say their prayers.
2) Some grand houses were shaped in a “letter E” to honor Queen Elizabeth.
If you have an early/new reader, then Roman’s series would be great reads for them. While your child practices his reading skills, he will also learn some interesting information about other children who lived during another historical period.
Roman has created a wonderful series that invites the young reader in by sharing bits of information that is applicable to the age of the child the book addresses. The illustrations are vivid and drawn to appeal to the age of reader. Any of the books in the series can easily be used to accompany a history study for your child.
If You Were Me and Lived in…the American West (Volume 7), If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4), If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2) and If You Were Me and Lived in… Elizabethan England (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 3) are all available for $14.99 each.
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