If you thought packing up and moving to a new house was tough, imagine packing up everything you own and moving to a new country in the 1620’s. If You Were Me and Lived in… Colonial America by Carole P. Roman gives a brief insight into just what that was like with the first settlers from The Mayflower.
Carole P. Roman is a prolific children’s author, writing picture books, chapter books, joke books and more and has won over 100 awards. The If You Were Me and Lived In… series is a series of educational children’s books that originally introduced children to different cultures around the world, with the latest additions to the series having expanded to now introduce children to ancient civilisations and time periods.
If You Were Me and Lived in… Colonial America is an educational history picture book for children aged 9-12 years old with a simple storyline that is packed with historical facts, giving children an introduction into how the first colonies in America came to be, from the arrival of the first settlers on The Mayflower and The Speedway in 1620.
If You Were Me and Lived in… Colonial America tells the story of how settlers to the new land set up their new lives, with everything from children’s names of the time to Thanksgiving, and has lots more in between including house building, farming, food, religion, clothing and Native Indians/American Indians. It tells a brief story of just how tough it was resettling in a new land and having to make everything from scratch.
Once you finish the story and have digested all the facts, the end of the book has 2 pages of important people who influenced the early settlements and a brief history of each person. These include names you may or may not have heard of including William Penn, Pocahontas and Captain John Smith.
If You Were Me and Lived in… Colonial America is a well written, fun and educational history book that children will find easy to read, digest and understand (there is even a glossary to help them pronounce some of the names and unfamiliar words, broken down into easy pronunciations along with their meaning). With many considering history to be a boring and dry subject, this book is anything but and approaches it in a fun way with some humour and a plethora of interesting facts that children will like reading about and finding out how the early American settlers overcame any obstacles and how hard life was then.
It has been beautifully illustrated by Sarah Wright with the pictures complementing the text very well and bringing to life what you are reading. Children, as well as parents and teachers, will love it and it doesn’t overwhelm you with boring facts and figures but gives a basic factual introduction into a historical subject and will hopefully spark a child’s imagination and thirst for learning more.
The books in the series, including Colonial America, are an excellent starting point for children to learn about history, world cultures and civilisations and I love them. They are very easy to read and understand and a joy to pick up and read. These books would make an excellent addition to a child’s library and would work very well in a school setting.
Expand your child’s knowledge of Colonial America with this well thought-out and put together book and then check out the rest of the If You Were Me and Lived In series. History told in a fun way.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £10.99 (Paperback)
For more information, visit www.caroleproman.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.