Carole P. Roman Book REVIEW

Our family always likes a good read aloud book so we were happy to have a  chance to review some books from award winning author Carole P. Roman.  The books we received were If You Were Me and Lived in . . . the Middle Ages, If You Were Me and Live in . . . the Mayan Empire, Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis, and Oh Susannah: It's in the bag.  We were asked to choose two books and then the author sent two books of her choice.  I only received one of the two I chose but the other book that arrived was just as good (just not what we were wanting to learn about at this time).



We really enjoyed If You Were Me and Lived in . . . the Middle Ages.  This book that was a good follow up to our study of the Middle Ages. We actually learned a few more things from this book.  Did you know it was not unusual for your sibling to join the church as a priest or nun, or to train to be a knight, or to be sent off (if you were a boy) at the age of 7 to live with a noble family to allow you to learn new things and make important friendships for your family? If you were a girl you might be having your marriage arranged for you at the age of 13 to an older man (my 7th grader did NOT find this amusing).  It gives more detail about the everyday life of a person who lived in the Middle Ages.  The story is told from the perspective of a young girl who lived in a family with a father, step-mother, brothers, sisters, and step-brothers and sisters.  Her family was a little higher in ranks than just a peasant so she did enjoy some extra privileges that others didn't.  She enjoyed a better menu to eat and a more distinguished place to eat at the table among many other things.

I also really like the extras this book provides for readers.  Unfamiliar or difficult words have a phonetic spelling included in parentheses. This even helped me on some of the words!  At the end of the book, there is a section listing famous people from the Middle Ages with mini-bios of each person listed.  The book concludes with a fairly extensive glossary.
There are several other books available from this If You Were Me and Lived In . . . Historical series of books that include Ancient China, Ancient Greece, the Ancient Mali Empire, the Amerian West, Colonial America, Elizabethan England, the Mayan Empire (see below), Renaissance Italy, and Viking Europe. This series is recommended for ages 8-15 but also works as a great read aloud for the younger crowd to be introduced into fascinating historical information in a fun story format with interesting illustrations. If you want to learn more about what it was like to live in the Middle Ages including types of occupations, what kinds of food were eaten, what type of clothing was worn and what people generally did, then this series is one you will want to include in your reading.


The second book we received was supposed to be the one about Colonial America but we received If You Were Me and Lived in . . . the Mayan Empire instead.  This is another book in the same series as the one above.  This book has a different illustrator with different style graphics that are still interesting to the reader.  Maps are also included in this book.  The format is similar with phonetic spellings, a section at the end that includes famous names in the Mayan culture, and finally a glossary. I would not have initially chosen this book but it has some interesting history.  Did you know that employment was hereditary and that you could not change your job to improve your life?  Your job stayed the same for all your life. Whatever occupation your father had was the trade for your entire family from generation to generation.  Mayan women could not own land so if there were no boys born in the family they would eventually become landless.  You'll have to get the book to learn more about this interesting culture.




The extra two books I received were Oh Susannah: It's in the bag and Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis.  The Oh Susannah book is the first in another series she has (currently only two books in the series).  It is a nice, small, simple chapter book written for ages 7-12.  Susannah has a series of challenges that she does not want to deal with like unfinished homework, a banana she doesn't want to eat, books that she didn't really want to read, and many more funny issues.  In the end, she realizes with the help of her parents that communicating is key and help is always there.  Make sure you get this book to find out how overcomes being so overwhelmed by her mess.

Oh Susannah chapter book

Cute illustrations from Captain No Beard

Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis is from the Captain No Beard series written for ages 3-8.  It is a whimsical, fun series that covers subjects such as bullying, stranger danger, and sharing to name a few.  Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis is about stealing.  The pirates on board the ship know that stealing is wrong, but they must convince the Captain of this. Read this book to find out how they convince that Captain that the Aurora Borealis is what it is because of where it is and that taking things that don't belong to you is not right.  Read to find out their creative solution to enjoying the Aurora Borealis at home. We really enjoyed these books and I like Carole's writing style.  I encourage you to check out the other series that she has and follow the banner below to see what other Crew Review members have to say about the other books and series.


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