This is the first of what will be a couple posts highlighting some of Carole Roman’s books for children. I was sent these books for review by the author, but all opinions expressed are my own.

First off, we’re going to be discussing Roman’s geography series ‘If you were me and lived in ____’. When I was contacted by the author initially about these children’s books, I was anticipating a series of 4 or 5 at most. Roman’s series far exceeded my expectations. This is a series of at 15 books, each highlighting a different country. I was particularly excited by the diversity of the countries. Turkey to Mexico to France to Peru to South Korea, India, Australia and more, these books are a great first introduction to concept of geography and the differences that make our world unique.

Each book follows a similar pattern, introducing kids to a few common themes: the foods you would eat, the places you would go, what you would call your parents, games you might play, and holidays you would celebrate.

These books are definitely predictable, but I think that is what makes them really great in their genre. I think these would actually be great as a curriculum tool for preschool/kindergarten. They’re simple enough to not bog younger children down in the details, but they have enough detail to make some really fun projects out of them. After our summer settles down a little, I plan to read one per week with Sophia, and then spend the rest of the week doing little projects that coincide with the book details.

We really enjoy cooking here, so I’m thinking we’ll focus on the foods and probably find some youtube videos or pictures of the famous places. I’m hoping to share those projects on my personal blog as we complete them, and here if they’re particularly relevant or successful. Sophia is only three, so we certainly won’t be taking it too seriously, but I think this will be a fun way to add a little structured fun to our days.

If you’re following us you’ll definitely be hearing more about these books over the next few months as we really explore all their educational potential.

I highly recommend checking these out if you’re looking for some new, fun ways to introduce different educational topics to your preschooler-in-residence.

We really liked them: 4 out of 5 stars