Geography, anyone? My girls and I had the chance to review a set of books by Carole P. Roman .
This set of books takes readers around the world with four different destinations:
If You Were Me And Lived In...Norway
We were blessed to receive all four titles, an inflatable globe, a couple of paper "passports", and two cute pencils with an international design. I knew that my curious girls would be very happy to read a little bit about a few different cultures, and they were :)
This is what we received. The inflatable globe was a hit!
Each paperback book is between 20-26 pages long. All have pleasant, brightly colored illustrations. The format is about the same in all of them. The book begins with a picture of the country, and where it is located on the globe (which you can then show to your child on the inflatable globe :) ). Then, you'll learn what the capital is for that specific country and get some basic information about it.
Then, you'll read examples of people's names that are common to that culture, as well as how one would address their parents.
You'll read about popular destinations, and activities that are available there. Then, it's time to learn about the food! Is it spicy, sweet, or savory? Do they use forks and spoons, or chopsticks?
What about holidays? Do other cultures celebrate Christmas, or New Year's? What kinds of traditions are included? Are there any presents? You'll find out all about it.
And school. Do children in other countries attend school? What is it called in the different languages?
These books are a quick and concise resource to provide an overview for young children about these four cultures. And to aid you in your pronunciation skills for those words that are a little tough to sound out, there is a guide in the back of each book to help you out.
This was the first one that we read. We have a bit of Spanish under our belts-just a bit-and the kids had fun testing what they knew.
The girls enjoyed learning about South Korea's currency, and the fact that chopsticks are the eating utensil of choice. They tried it themselves - with limited success.
In this book, the girls liked the names of people. They liked that they recognize some of the words, as we've been studying a bit of French in our studies.
The favorite fact from this book for my oldest, was learning that there are times where the sun never sets. She enthusiastically talked about never having to go to bed, and playing outside non stop with her friends, no matter the time of day ;)
These books are great for anyone looking for resources to enhance a geography study for the younger ages especially. They provide the basic facts, and are an easy read. The age range is pre-k to 8 years. I think that's a pretty accurate target. Our kids range in age from toddler to 9, and all enjoyed what they learned, although I would not have necessarily thought to purchase this for my 8 and 9 year old.
We didn't use these along with a specific study, but as a fun, general read aloud that also happened to teach geography. I had the older girls read them aloud, and stayed close by to assist with some of the hard to pronounce words. Not that I was always a help there, until I discovered the guide in the back ;)
Overall, we all liked these books, although I do think the price is a bit on the high side. As we discovered, they span a broad range of ages, which is helpful in households with a variety of grade levels. I would recommend these to anyone.
If You Were Me And Lived In...Norway
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Price: Right now, you can find the books available for under $9.00
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Thank you for the lovely review. I'm glad to hear that the children enjoyed reading about other cultures. They looked adorable with the books!
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