Review: If You Were Me and Lived in Australia by Carole P. Roman

Last year as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, we had an opportunity to review 4 books by Carole P. Roman in the If You Were Me and Lived In....series:

Mexico
Norway
France
South Korea


I was recently sent one of the newest books in the series, If You We Me and Lived in Australia ($8.99) to review.

This series of book were written for children ages 3-8 years old and teaches them about people and cultures from different parts of the world.  Each book follows the same basic format.  The first page shows a picture of the country and the capital on the first page.  The next page shows where on the globe it is located, with the following page discussing the capital city.  Then the book discusses common names, what you call your parents, what the currency is called, and a native place people like to visit.  Also we learn about what typical foods are eaten, the most popular sport, a special national holiday, and about the school.

The books are beautifully illustrated with two children going through the book and experiencing the things on each page.  At the end of each book there is an illustration of children holding hands around the globe and the words, "So you see, if you were me, how life in ___ could really be. There is also a pronunciation guide in the back of the book.

I think this series is a great way to teach young children about  different cultures around the world.  The illustrations are sweet and the topics are things that children can easily relate to.  The pages are a good length, not too short or too long for the targeted age group.  Because the books follow a similar format, children can easily go through the series and see how cultures are different but that they all also have things that are the same.  We enjoyed reading and learning about Australia in this book.

It does mention on the last page that people native to Australia have lived there for over 40,000 years which may be something you want to know ahead of time, especially if you believe that God created the earth a little over 6,000 years ago.  I think the author could have easily left a number out and just said the culture was isolated for many years before the Europeans arrived in the 1700's.  It is not a huge issue and can be easily edited, but worth mentioning.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.