Carole P. Roman (If you were me...) Homeschool Review Crew

Our favorite subject in our homeschool has to be history. I love using all kinds of resources to make history come alive to Josiah. We recently got to review some great illustrated books that were right up our alley!

Brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com, these books helped us see what life would be like during certain eras of history.

I received four soft cover books:

If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient China: The Han Dynasty

This 76 page book focuses on the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).  Readers will learn about daily customs, family relationships, industry and more. There is a glossary at the book that defines various terms. There are also blurbs of important people towards the back of the book.

If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1)

This is 54 page book focusing on Ancient Greece around the time of 350 BC. It also focuses on daily life and customs. This book also talks about government, the Olympics and the worship of Greek gods. Again, it has a list of Greek gods and important vocabulary words in the book at the end.

If You Were Me and Lived in...Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2)This book is 44 pages long and focuses on life in Florence, Italy around the 1400's. It describes daily life and more. There is a glossary at the basic of the book that lists famous people from the Italian Renaissance and terms used.

If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4) This 53 page book focuses on life in the early 1600's in America. It describes leaving England, traveling in a ship, and those first few years in a new land.  Life in the New World is described in detail as long as relationships with the Native Americans. The glossary gives a list of people that were influential in the colonies, as well as a list of vocabulary words.

I have reviewed books by Carole P. Roman before. We have always enjoyed them. Personally, I like them because they are easy to read, yet are packed with so much information. Josiah is dyslexic and it is important that we have easy reads that allow him to feel like he is learning something important. 

When we signed up for the review we got to put in a request to review 2 choices. We were to receive 4 books in all, so the other 2 books were going to be a surprise. I love surprises!

My initial 2 choices were If You Were Me and Lived in….Ancient China and If You Were Me and Lived in Ancient Greece.

We are working our way through Ancient History this year, so I figured that my choices would fit in very nicely.

As I mentioned above, If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient China: The Han Dynasty

is about what life was like during the Han dynasty. We learned all kinds of fascinating things.

Did you know that while every meal served in a palace was a feast (with 30 dishes served on average) the Emperor ate only twice a day and always alone. Josiah was horrified to learn that one of the dishes enjoyed was dog soup.

Another interesting tidbit was that women weren’t allowed to be educated. There were some girls who were allowed to be tutored, but it wasn’t a common practice.

One of the famous people listed was a Hua Mulan.  You might have heard about this legendary female warrior ;<)

This was really a fascinating book. I believe it is longer than many of the other books, but it really is a perfect companion to a history study.

If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1)

We were a bit more familiar with Ancient Greece because of my own fascination with Greek Mythology. But we did learn a few things. For example, did you know that folks didn’t use napkins? Instead, they wiped their hands on bread that was later given to dogs. There wasn’t any mention of Dog soup.

We also learned that the Ancient Greeks weren’t any better about educating their girls than those in Ancient China.

This was an enjoyable read and perfect to add to our collection of history books.

Overall, these are all great books and fascinating reads. We thoroughly enjoyed them. There are more titles available to read. While we have used them in our homeschool, you don't have to be a homeschooler to enjoy them. 

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