Embracing a Healthy Family: Space

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I have encouraged my children to have an interest in history and both my younger children enjoy writing stories. My 10 year old particularly loves historical books that read like a journal or a first person's account. I was delighted to partake in the review of Carol P. Roman books and collections. My historical preferences are all over the place but since one side of my family ancestry is from eastern Europe and the other England, I was interested in having them read the books that covered Italy and England with a bonus about Mali thrown in. The books aren't very long which was a plus for both of them as although they do like reading, they don't like getting bogged down with real lengthy books quite yet. Carole P. Roman provides many interesting facts in each of the children's books that we read while still providing such entertaining books.

We had the privilege of reading three of the If You Were Me... series books from Carole P. Roman books and collections:

For starters, things I first noticed about the books in general were:

The awards Carole P. Roman has received for each of the three individual books we reviewed were impressive to me.
Each book was complete with colorful illustrations to help bring the stories alive. My youngest wasn't impressed with the illustrations but my older child and myself thought they were good.
They provide a foundation for fully understanding what life was like in each time period and respective country.
They were just the right length to not lose interest with either of my girls.
Pronunciation help is provided for any word that might be difficult for the readers which was a great idea.

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

The book begins providing the foundations of if you were born during the Renaissance in Italy over 500 years ago! We liked the maps, the comparisons between now and then, the history of who governed city-state, how the political system was set up as well as what your name might have been whether a boy or a girl. The cultural aspect was fully covered and I'd say the part we enjoyed the most was how Carole P. Roman described it from the point of if the child was there at that time. The book was very educational also covering the history of the time period, cultural influences and even art.

They were surprised to learn that women would pluck their hairline to make their foreheads look wider and the stylish ladies painted their faces white with lead powder in spite of being told lead by some it was harmful.

Towards the back of the book, were famous people from the Italian Renaissance as well as a glossary thus making it much easier for a reader to look up a word they might not know. The girls enjoyed this book.

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

This book was a little longer starting out with the Mali empire, history, government, family, religion and more. It introduced a great number of new words and fully detailed what life would be like for various family members. It was also educational and introduced my children to a region that were Muslim outside of the normal Muslim traditions they have been exposed to. One of the key points they thought was unfair was the tradition of if a family member died, only the men were allowed to accompany the body to the cemetery if the person was Muslim.

The ending also contained famous people and a glossary.

If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time (Volume 8)

Like the other two books, this one was also fully educational and started out over 400 years ago during Elizabethan England. This was their favorite book mostly due to my interest in English history to include Elizabeth 1. They were quite surprised to learn there were laws dictating what color of clothing and type of clothing one could wear. Since my youngest likes to write stories such as this, she really liked how the author started with what your name might have been, how the family dynamics were, the political and/or government systems were, how you might have lived, what you ate and all the way to the religion of the time and the currency system.

As with the other two books, there was entertainment so it wasn't all gloom and doom as many might think. The details around the various ways they had fun was touched on in all three books making all three very well rounded experiences for the reader. Even though the books weren't very lengthy, the author really provided a great and thorough experience of life in each of these areas and time periods.

This book also contained famous people of the time period and a glossary.

This was their favorite book out of all three!

As a homeschooling mom or just a parent in general, I would recommend these books given the comprehensive scope of what life was or might have been during these time periods. Carole P. Roman provided history, reading and entertainment all in one with these books that would enrich any child's education regardless if homeschooled or not. I even enjoyed them and learned from each one.

About Carol P. Roman:

She is the award-winning author of over fifty children's books ranging from pirates to princesses to discovering the world around us. She also hosts two blog radio programs and is one of the founders of a new magazine titled, Indie Author's Monthly.

Check out Carole P. Roman on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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