TOS Review: If You Were Me...

You know how I feel about books. Some might say that I have a bit of a problem. I disagree. A girl  can always make room in her life for books. 

Where else can you sail the treacherous sea with Long John Silver, fish off the banks of the Mississippi with Tom Sawyer or fly through outer space in a glass elevator with Charlie Bucket. 

I am equally in love with books that encourage us to learn about our world around us. In fact, my stack of historical biographies is shameful and I love to exposing Josiah to other lands and cultures. 

 For now, Josiah’s notion of the world extends to what he sees on television or what we set before him to learn. 

During this past month, Josiah and I have had a chance to review a set of books from the If You Were Me series by Carole P. Roman from Away We Go Media. These books have allowed Josiah to glimpse into the lives of kids from other countries. 

What We Received

We received four paperback books from Carole P. Roman. They are:

If You Were Me and Lived in...Mexico
If You Were Me and Lived in...South Korea
If You Were Me and Lived in...France
If You Were Me and Lived in...Norway  (this is the brand new one!)

In this series of books, Carole takes kids on a trip around the world and introduces them to other cultures from a child’s perspective. This non-fiction series is intended for PreK to 8-year-olds. The books cost under $9 a book.  

How We Used Them

Now I know you are asking yourself. Isn’t Josiah is 6^th grade?

Why, yes he is! He is also dyslexic and I thought this series of books would be perfect for him. And it turns out I was right (I love it when that happens!) 

The books aren’t long. The pages are easy to manage and uncluttered. The illustrations only add to the subject matter. I wanted him to be able to enjoy a set of books independently. He is reading really well right now, but a lot of books intended for his grade level are longer and crammed onto the page making them harder for him to read. 

More than that, the books are packed with interesting information.  Take for example the If You Were Me and Lived in…France (which was Josiah’s favorite). 

The book begins by showing you an outline map of France and where it is in the world. It tells you that if you lived in France you might live in Paris and gives some interesting information about Paris and the Eiffel tower. 

The book also talks about what you might be named if you lived in France. Josiah decided he would prefer to be called Hugo. He also learned of common foods and that the French celebrate a day of Independence called Bastille Day (He wondered if they eat watermelon on Bastille Day). Josiah was especially impressed with the mention of French desserts. He’s a fan. 

The book ends with a handy pronunciation guide. 

This pronunciation guide is from If You Were Me and You Live in....Norway

The other 3 books follow a similar pattern to If You Were Me and Lived in...France.

My Thoughts

This was a fun series of books to read and review. It didn’t take Josiah long to read through them. The books were able to keep his interest without frustrating him. 

I think that these books would be perfect to include in any country study. Obviously, we used them in a very simple way for this review, but I can see adding them to a unit study in the future. 

We also received an inflatable globe, a couple of pencils and passports to help Josiah record his trip around the world.  Overall, it was a fun experience!

Many more Crew members reviewed the series as well.  Check them out!