You may be familiar with Carole P. Roman with Away We Go Media from her Captain No Beard series that is based on a game that Roman played with her grandsons. After launching that successful series, Roman has started another series called “If You Were Me and Lived In… “
The new series takes readers, ages pre-kindergarten through eight, on a journey across the world visiting and learning about different countries. We had the opportunity to review physical copies of the first four
books in the series: If You Were Me and Lived in…France, If You Were Me and Lived in…Mexico, If You Were Me and Lived in…Norway and If You Were Me and Lived in…South Korea.
We also received an inflatable globe, which River could not wait to blow up; one passport for filing out; one with stickers; and two pencils adorned with international flag prints. What child doesn’t like stickers? Mine love stickers.
The series allows your child to “visit” a foreign country right in his own home and learn about how other children live in those countries.
Although we have a wall map, the inflatable globe made locating each country we read about more fun for him.
I love the idea of traveling to a foreign country, but domestic travel leaves me longing for my bed at home, so reading through the books was the next best thing.
Readers learn about the names of common activities, currency, foods, a holiday, notable locations, parents 
and of course school.
Although the books don’t go into depth, they provide a younger child a decent overview of what it would be like for him if they lived in the country that each book visits.
At the end of the book is a glossary that reviews many of the cultural words that are introduced in the book. There is even a breakdown of the sounds of each word to be sure that you are pronouncing it according to the culture from which it derives.
Canyon and I read through each book one week at a time. We practiced the new vocabulary, located the country on the map, discussed and compared some of the differences between where he lives and those of
the country we were studying. I also had him take his hand at drawing a picture of the country, which is shown at the beginning of each book. The If You Were Me and Lived In… series provides so many starting points for studying further about a new country.
If you have an early/new reader, then Roman’s series would be great reads for them. While your child practices his reading skills, he will also learn some interesting information about other children and the different cultures in which they live.
I enjoyed sharing all of the books with Canyon, but one of the reasons I wanted to review the series was because of the “Land of the Midnight Sun” book, otherwise known as Norway. Canyon’s great-aunt lived in Oslo, Norway for five years. It was interesting seeing some of the experiences she had while living in that country.
We were also able to discuss with Julie some of the points in the book like May 17, which is their independence day. Our aunt Julie had the opportunity to stand in the king’s courtyard one year for the annual celebration as he and the queen stood on the balcony to wave to the people. Julie also enjoyed a variety of food like the vafler (a waffle with cream on it) and even did a lot of cross country skiing.
Roman has created a wonderful series that invites the young reader in by sharing bits of information that is applicable to the age of the child that the book addresses. The illustrations are vivid and drawn to appeal to the age of the child for which the book is written. The series could easily be used to accompany a geographic study of countries with your child.
Since Roman is writing about the different countries and so far has only written four books in the series, one can only hope that she will continue until she has visited every country in the world.
Carole P. Roman’s books are available for $8.99.
You can read more reviews of this item by fellow crew members on The Homeschool Crew Blog.
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