October 6, 2016

If You Were Me and Lived In...: An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time books by Carole P. Roman {Product Review}

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Our family always loves books set in history. I especially love ones that are geared to particular time in history, because they let your kids have an inside look at the time period in a behind the scenes style. When I had the chance to review If You Were Me and Lived in...the American West (Volume 7) and If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4) brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com, I was very excited to see if they would be welcome additions to our bookshelf.

About the If You Were Me and Lived In... Books

The If You Were Me and Lived In...books are designed to take your family on a travel through time to visit the cultures and civilizations around the world and throughout history. The newest books in her series are designed to introduce students to civilizations throughout time, and include the following titles:

*If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1)
*If You Were Me and Lived in...Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2)
*If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 3)
*If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4) 
*If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient China: The Han Dynasty
*If You Were Me and Lived in...the Middle Ages (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 6)
*If You Were Me and Lived in...the American West (Volume 7)
*If You Were Me and Lived in...Viking Europe

In these books, you will learn about what kind of food you might eat in Colonial America, the clothes you wore in Elizabethan England, what your name could be in Viking Europe, and what kind of work a child in the Middle Ages might have done. The full color illustrations really give a peak at the culture and customs, occupations, food, clothing, and recreation of each civilization through time.

We were generously given four of the books in this series: If You Were Me and Lived in...the Middle Ages, If You Were Me and Lived in...the American West, If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England, and If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America.

Our Thoughts on the If You Were Me and Lived In...Series


I was tickled to see the four books that I was sent from this series. I really wanted them all, and we specifically requested the Colonial America and American West volumes. I admit I was very excited to see that they had included the Middle Ages and Elizabethan England volumes as well--two of my favorite eras. 

When I showed the boys the books, my oldest grabbed the American West volume as his first choice. At first he wasn't excited about the books ("more reading?!"), but once he started reading it, he was tickled to see that it had one of his best friends' names in it as a character and kept reading. 

He ended up loving the book and enjoyed sharing things from it--especially about the buffalo chips. Once he was done with it, I orally gave him the review worksheets that I discovered listed on Carole P. Roman's blog. He easily went through it and answered the questions lickedty split. 
A page from American West

He dove into the Colonial America book next. This is one of his most favorite time periods with his love of the anything related to the early days of America and the beginning colonies. Once he read it, I pulled out the corresponding worksheets from the blog again which he completed for me no problem. 

As of right now, because he's working through these books on his own, he hasn't jumped into the next two that we have, but he says that he will be going with the Middle Ages one first. He doesn't know much about this era, but he does like stories about knights and castles, so I think he will enjoy learning more about this time period. 

Of the four books, the Elizabethan England one is the shortest, but it still contains an excellent glimpse of the time period. 

I really like the fact that there is a section in each book that showcases "Important People to Know in the _________ Era". This portion provides short biographies on famous people from the era who were the movers and shakers. This makes the era relevant by putting names with it. I also like the detailed glossaries at the back of the books.
A page from the section in Colonial America
Having the worksheets which correspond with each book available, is a definite bonus to these books. It allows me to check comprehension on what was read with just an oral question/answer session. One could use the worksheets as a "quiz" if you really wanted to, but I just like checking to see what my son remembers. 
easy to find links to the corresponding worksheets on her blog
Cons? No. I haven't found any with the books. They are very well done, and a great introduction to the civiliations in history.

Will we continue using this product?
Absolutely! They will be the perfect supplement to our World History encyclopedias we have on our shelves. I definitely see us pulling these out many times in the future.

Want to Know More?

We have been reviewing the books If You Were Me and Lived in...the American West (Volume 7) and If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4) brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com You have seen how much we have enjoyed them, but make sure you see what some of the other books were like!
If You Were Me and Lived in ... {by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com}
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I just love these books and definition would like to add some more of her volumes from this series--AND her cultures series to our classroom! I at least will encourage our local library to snag them!
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