Have you ever read Carol P. Roman?)

Last year we reviewed a pile of books written by Carol P. Roman in our homeschool. This is the time of year when homeschooling can become routine, at least our’s does. I often look for something new to add to our day, and so I wanted to introduce these great books to you in case you did not see my review last year.

I am always interested in integrating children’s books into our homeschool and so I was really happy when we got the opportunity to review this pack of books written by Carole P. Roman including

If You Were Me and Lived in… Historical Series

We got the chance to read 3 of the “If You Were Me and Lived in…” historical books. Each book takes you on a tour of a historical culture. You learn about the rulers, the food, the way children lived, how they were educated, the politics, and contributions the cultures made to modern society. Each story is told from the perspective of a young child living in the historical place in a family that is at the center of the action.

The end of the books include glossaries to help your child learn unfamiliar words and additional sections like key historical figures or technological contributions made by the culture, or even descriptions of the writing and their gods.

If You Were Me and Lived in….the Mayan Empire: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time (Volume 4)

In this volume, a young boy takes you on a tour of his culture. You will learn about Mayan contributions to modern culture, famous people, what it was like to grow up in the society, a bit about the writing system, and their gods.

This book is packed with content, much more than you would expect by simply paging through the book. These books all look like a picture book at first glance, but I think they would be much more interesting to middle ages to teens, and even adults.

If You Were Me and Lived in…the Ancient Mali Empire: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time (Volume 5)

This is a tour of the ancient Mali Empire (at the time of Mansa Musa) hosted by a young girl. She lives with her mother and father and three brothers. We follow the girl as her brothers get their educations and find professions and the girl prepares herself for marriage.

We also learn about the political system and a bit about the Islamic religion and traditions.

This book includes a glossary as well as a section detailing the important historical figures of the time.

If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time (Volume 7)

This book takes us through Renaissance Italy, guided by a young girl. We learn about what life was like for her and her family and what her daily life entailed.

There is a substantial section in this book which lays out the great artists of the time, which you could use to connect the book to art lessons or other history studies.

We received 2 story books to review as well.

Oh Susannah: It’s in the Bag: An Oh Susannah Story

This is the story of a young girl who is frustrated and confused by parents who work and who never seem to have the time to spend with her. She tries talking to them and they don’t listen. And so she takes her homework and bad grades and stuffs them in her school bag until it all becomes too much for her to handle.

This is a chapter reader that is probably written with upper elementary aged public schoolers in mind.

Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles: A Captain No Beard Story

Fribbet the Frog is a story within a story that takes your pre-school aged children on a gentle adventure with Captain No Beard and his little sister as they encounter Fribbet, Fribbet is a frog who has left home because of all the changes (new tadpoles) to his family. The story ends when we discover that Captain No Beard (a boy) was actually telling and acting out this story for his little sister so she could understand how the new baby in their family would effect their lives.

Woven into the story is a bit of science as children will learn how a frog grows from egg, to tadpole, to full grown frog.