Carole P. Roman Book Collection Review

My family loves curling up to a good book. I love being able to integrate good quality books into our homeschool. Carole P. Roman books and collections have become a favorite in our homeschool. Carole P. Roman’s latest books we have read are: If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy, If You Were Me andLived in…the Ancient Mali Empire, and If You Were Me and Lived in…The Mayan Empire.

What my kids love about Carole P. Roman’s books about historical time periods and learning about a different culture. All of the books are told from a child’s perspective. This is something that my kids really like. The books that I'm reviewing are intended for ages 8 through 15. I think if you have younger kids they would enjoy having these stories read to them. Carole P. Roman books and collections has books for all ages.

My kids are always so curious about what did kids do during certain time periods and cultures.  The format is basically the same in the series. Carole P. Roman goes over what would your name be, what you would wear, eat, do for entertainment, education, religion, and occupations. All of the books have a glossary, important people and some may have other topics like what the culture contributed to the modern world. Even as an adult I find the books interesting.

If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy

This is a full colored illustrated book. The colors are vibrant on each page. The illustrations are created by Silvia Burnetti and Kelsea Wierenga and they bring such depth to the words. I love looking at all the details as much as my kiddos enjoy it. The book has 56 pages.

The story starts out 500 years ago in 1483 outside of Florence, Italy in the Tuscany Region. You will see a map on the page of the area you are going to learn about. This is the time period right after the Middle Ages. The next page shows you a drawing of what Florence would look like today and in the 1400’s. It’s fun seeing the stark differences and even some of the things that are the same.

What would your name be back then if you are a boy or a girl. The main character in this story is based off a girl but, you learn about the boys also.

Some facts we learned was that girls were betrothed at 12 and married at 16 to a much older man. Your brothers dressed like their father. So much description in the details in the clothing.

My daughter was amazed with all the beautiful dresses that the girls and women wore during the time period. They are classy and elegant. This was my daughters favorite book from the three we received.

The book goes into some of artist and inventions during the Renaissance era. This is a fun book if you’re learning about Michelangelo, Raphael, or Leonardo Da Vinci.

The story ends with three pages of famous people during the Renaissance era and a six page glossary.

If You Were Me and Lived in…The Mayan Empire

The illustrations on this fully illustrated book by Paula Tabor are unique as some parts of the illustration are a photo and the rest of the picture is a drawing. Usually the photo portion is the trees, crops, and food. The details of the illustrations are very realistic. The book is 54 pages and several informational resources in the back of the book.

My son enjoyed this book the most and he is planning on doing a book report on it after he is done with another book report he is currently working on.

The Mayan we learned had a large empire across several modern day countries on the Yucatan Peninsula which is Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Belize. The year is 572 which is some 1,500 years ago. The Mayans keep a written account of their history on several different medians from pottery, stelas, papers, and skins.

My son is going to give his thoughts on the book:

The Mayans are interesting as they invented a calendar that is extremely accurate without technology and it surpassed anything in Europe and still holds weight today with how accurate it was. They mapped the night skies without using a telescope. Which I’m sure they used a lot of this knowledge when they created a calendar.

Another thing that they did was amazing was their ability to do advance surgeries on the brain. That is amazing doing surgery on the brain without modern medical technology.

Any culture that can introduce chocolate is a plus in my book. (I have to agree with my son on that.) They also brought turkey, corn, squash, and some fruits that are a staple in many cultures.

I don’t quite get their game Pokatatok and being able to get in a round sideways hoop just using your thighs and forearms. That would be an extremely challenging sport and would require a lot of physical strength.

I really found this an interesting book and I learned a lot of information about a culture I didn’t know much about. Little Man was impressed with the book.

If you don’t’ like to have your kids learn about certain items I’ll give you a heads up as this book does talk about worshiping gods, idols, sacrifices, and slavery.

The book ends with a section, “Mayan Contributions to the World” and “Famous Names in Mayan Culture.” Like all of Carole P. Roman’s books it ends with a glossary of the words that you may not be familiar with.

If You Were Me and Lived in…the Ancient Mali Empire

The illustrations are created by Mateya Arkova who lives in Bulgaria. The illustrations are depicted in a whimsical manner. The illustrations are done in watercolors in bright pastel colors. They paint a wonderful picture of what life might have looked like in Mali in 1332. The book is 76 pages which includes the glossary and a section on “Famous People in the Mali Empire.”

This is the culture that I knew absolutely nothing about. I was familiar with many aspects in the other books. I learned something new along with my kids.

Mali started in modern day Ghana and now is still a country that is the eight largest country in Africa today.

The main character is a young girl living in the capital of Niani. The people there worship the gods of their African heritage and Islam is a new religion that the current king embraces. He allows people to worship their own faith and even encourage all religions to be practiced.

You would live in a mud brick home with adobe plaster with round shaped domed roofs. You shared your home with many of your fathers’ wives and children.

Your city was a main trading route which made Mali a wealthy city. Salt and gold from the mines brought much wealth. The Mali Empire had a university in Timbuktu in which your brother attended.

You hear your grandfather tell about the birth of your nation. This was an intriguing story of the history of the nation of Mali. Your county has a powerful military that protected your lands and the roads.

Girls twelve to thirteen would be ready to have children and you would have a marriage arranged. Your dowry would be paid in kola nuts. The nuts make you feel good and wide awake and full of energy.

Another heads up as they talk about idols, good fortune and fertility, slavery, amulets to make evils spirits go away, and worshiping of a god.

How did I use Carole P. Roman Book Collection?

My kids are 12 and 15. My daughter struggles with reading due to her special needs. I read the books out loud to her and we discussed the books and enjoyed searching the pictures on the pages of the book. Some of them we had some pretty in-depth discussions due to some of the aspects that we don’t practice.

My son is a strong reader and he read all the books by himself. He had to choose one of the books to write up a book report on. Which I mentioned earlier he is doing it on the, If You Were Me and Lived in…The Mayan Empire.

I know I say this every time with these books but, the books are a great resources if your wanting to learn about a historical era or a culture. The books are great for kids doing a  book report or a research paper. The material and the amount of pages is great for kids just learning how to do a research paper. They aren’t overwhelming and have enough information to write a decent report.  They make a wonderful unit study, lapbook, or can be used with notebook pages.  

My family is thrilled every time we read one. We have read several books and still have several more to add to our collection.

My family has many favorite books like:

If You Were Me and Lived In…Colonial America

If YouWere Me And Lived In...Australia

If You Were Me and Lived In...Viking Europe

Thank you Carole P. Roman for some amazing books that let kids of all ages learn about wonderful cultures and places. You make a difference with your books! 

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Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew are reading books in Carole P. Roman Book Collection. Stop by and see what they have to say.