* This post may contain affiliate links.
We've reviewed multiple books this year alone, and each time I comment on the fact that our family loves to read. Picture books, chapter books, fiction, nonfiction--we're not picky; just hand us a book or two. Or in this case, four.
We were given the opportunity to receive more books by Carole P. Roman. We own many of the books in her If You Were Me series and were excited to own more titles. In only 5 years, Carole has written over 35 books for children and received countless awards (no, really, there are so many I'm not going to count them all!) for her works. Not only is she an accomplished author, she's a generous one, as well. We were able to choose 2 of her titles; then she picked 2 more to send. We received the following books:
The 75-page paperback give a fantastic description of what it could have been like to live in Viking Europe in 870 AD. It teaches about the people and their classes. The Jarls were the wealthy people of government, the Karls were the free peasants or farmers, and the Thralls were the captured slaves who did all the hard labor. The book talks about food like cod, mussels, shrimp, whales, walruses, ducks, hazelnuts, cheese, berries, and more. It teaches in detail about the utensils and tools of the period, the clothing, and activities. There's information about their gods, marriage traditions, sagas, and poems.
The back of the book contains a glossary of people, places, and things that are pertinent to that time and place. It also has a section about important or famous people and a description for each. These resources can be used as a spring board for further study.
As much as we love the If You Were Me books, I wanted to experience Carole's other writing styles, as well. Again, my choice was fairly easy: pirates. The Captain No Beard series is based on her grandchildren and teach a tender lesson while using the imagination. I read through some of the descriptions in the series, but decided on starting at the beginning with volume 1, Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life).
This silly book tells the story of Captain No Beard and his crew: Mongo the Monkey, Linus the lion, Fribbit the frog, and first mate Hallie. The crew learns important pirate lingo and how to perform pirate duties, all while No Beard laments that "being a captain is hard work." They braved the open seas, survived a storm, searched for treasure, met a mermaid . . . and ended up back on Alexander's (No Beard) bed with his cousin Hallie and stuffed animal friends.
It was exciting to receive 2 surprise books. The first was Rocket-Bye.
This book is Carole's love letter to her grandsons. The story takes the reader to the stars, quite literally. The pages are covered in illustrations in the galaxy. Two boys (representing the grandsons) sit atop a rocket ship as they zoom page-by-page past stars, planets, moons, constellations, and other cosmic colors. The rhyming text weaves and curves through the pages as if it's traveling through the vast universe along with the rocket ship. This story is sure to inspire an out-of-this-world adventure.
Our second surprise book was Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?.
While the last book was written for the grandsons, this book is Carole's love letter to her granddaughters. Little kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up. This heartfelt lesson to little girls encourages them to follow their dreams--whether they want to be an explorer, nurse, chef, farmer, teacher, police officer, pilot, accountant, or anything else they can imagine. And no matter what they choose, they can still be princesses.
The kiddos and I sat and read these books together. The 3 are quick reads and typical picture books. If You Were Me and Lived in...Viking Europe is a lot more educational and filled with facts. I even found the kids reading these books on their own, too. Here's what they had to say:
If you need some quality children's books, Carole P. Roman has many award-winning options for you.
It was exciting to receive 2 surprise books. The first was Rocket-Bye.
This book is Carole's love letter to her grandsons. The story takes the reader to the stars, quite literally. The pages are covered in illustrations in the galaxy. Two boys (representing the grandsons) sit atop a rocket ship as they zoom page-by-page past stars, planets, moons, constellations, and other cosmic colors. The rhyming text weaves and curves through the pages as if it's traveling through the vast universe along with the rocket ship. This story is sure to inspire an out-of-this-world adventure.
Our second surprise book was Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?.
While the last book was written for the grandsons, this book is Carole's love letter to her granddaughters. Little kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up. This heartfelt lesson to little girls encourages them to follow their dreams--whether they want to be an explorer, nurse, chef, farmer, teacher, police officer, pilot, accountant, or anything else they can imagine. And no matter what they choose, they can still be princesses.
The kiddos and I sat and read these books together. The 3 are quick reads and typical picture books. If You Were Me and Lived in...Viking Europe is a lot more educational and filled with facts. I even found the kids reading these books on their own, too. Here's what they had to say:
I like the pirate one because I like being a pirate!
I liked Can a Princess Be a Firefighter because I like princesses.
I liked Captain No Beard because I want to taste their treasure!
I liked the Viking book because I'd like to practice archery and spear throwing like them.
If you need some quality children's books, Carole P. Roman has many award-winning options for you.
You can connect with Carole P. Roman on the following social media sites:
You can read more reviews of many of the books written by Carole P. Roman on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.
* Some of the links in the content above are affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I recommend products or services that I have used personally and all the text and opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 225.
