Review | If You Were Me and Lived in the American West by Carole P. Roman

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If you’re a teacher or homeschool parent who isn’t familiar with Carole P. Roman…you need to be.

She’s an author with a gift for bringing cultural experiences to children through books. Her writing is easy for kids to understand, but not short on information. She’s even mentioned in the popular teaching guide Give Your Child the World because of her excellent writing on different cultures.

We first became familiar with Roman’s work when I interviewed her regarding her book If You Were Me and Lived in…Italy. Since then, the boys and I have traveled to Brazil, South Korea, and Peru via her books. I feel as though I learn as many new things from Roman’s books as the kids do!

I was so excited when I heard that Roman was expanding her If You Were Me and Lived In… series. In addition to walking through various countries, Roman is now also writing books that take an in-depth look at specific time periods. Some are in the ancient past, others are more recent, but all are incredibly informative and fun. They are perfect for my seven-year-old, who is full of questions about how things were different in the past.

We’ve enjoyed every book we’ve read in the series, but thus far, our favorite has been the one that focuses on the American West. This book shows the reader what life would be like if he were a young boy traveling westward on the Oregon trail. The book highlights the fun and exciting parts of the journey, but also the difficult ones, too. The beauty of the prairie and the reality of illnesses like cholera are both shared. History is both beautiful and painful, and I appreciate that this book doesn’t shy away from the hard parts.

The book also discusses what life was like once settlers reached the Oregon territory. School, work, home life, and socializing as a child in a new Oregon settlement are shown. Again, the good is shown along with the bad, and there’s both the fun of dances and the hard work of raising crops.

One of my favorite features of this series is that each book includes a “who’s-who” of the time period and a glossary. This is incredibly helpful for connecting the book to history or social studies lessons. If you’re lesson planning or doing a unit study on a specific historical period, this series is an invaluable resource.

As a parent and homeschooling mom, I love these books, but my kids love them, too. The language is clear and easy to understand, and the illustrations are bright and colorful. The American West book was particularly interesting to my kids, because we’ve been reading the Little House series. We had a great talk about the similarities between the Ingalls journey and the journey of the main character in Roman’s book.

As you can see, I think this series is worth investing in. There’s also a great opportunity to WIN the entire series, or individual books. Here are all the details:

If You Were Me and Lived In… Giveaway

• A set of all 6 books in the IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN … AN INTRODUCTION TO CIVILIZATIONS THROUGHOUT TIME series
• A set of all 18 books in the IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN … AN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD series
• A $50 Amazon gift card

Four (4) winners receive:

• A choice of one book from either series.

Giveaway begins July 20, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends August 20, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

Giveaway open to US and Canadian addresses only.

Prizes and samples provided by Carole P. Roman.

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