"If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico" & "If You Were Me and Lived in France" new cultural series by Carole P. Roman

Former Social Studies teacher and award-winning author, Carole P. Roman (Captain No Beard series - see my reviews, please) has written a new series of straight forward geographical/language introductory books for the young child. The If You Were Me and Lived In....... series begins with Mexico as book 1 and France as book 2.

Illustrated with simple, brightly colored line drawings of a boy and girl who are the narrators will appeal to children for the simplicity and colorful detail.  The two children instruct first of all on the locale of Mexico and France. Once you understand where the country is located, you begin with some basic terms or words: France - your mommy is Maman and your daddy is Papa. They would pay in Euros (money). You might eat crepes (thin pancakes) or play with your poupée (doll). And then in Mexico - Mommy and daddy are Mama and Papa (Oh, not so different, you say?). For money you would use a peso. A favorite food might be a tamale - but we can get them here in the USA, too.  And your doll is know as a muñeca.

Carole Roman is dedicated to helping children learn - good conduct, good behavior, and social studies. All this is well presented in her very enjoyable books Captain No Beard series and this new series If You Were Me and Lived in..... Her interest in children learning is further illustrated in her continued creation of enjoyable materials for families to read to their children.

When my children were growing up, the study of geography was sadly lacking in the school classroom, so I did a bit with them at home. We used a World globe to learn location and sizes of countries and how to identify the continents on which each were located. We also intensely read the National Geographic magazines (kept the old copies for extended reference and learning) and studied the accompanying maps. Ms. Roman's new books are a step in the right direction for young children to immerse themselves with geography, customs, and beginning language.

At the end of each of these books is a glossary of the new language words used in the book. It would be so much fun to read the Mexico book and then go to a "Mexican" restaurant and order tamales.  And then to also "speak a few words in your new language" with some of the native Mexican waiters. Why not try it?

DISCLOSURE: The author provided a copy of each book to facilitate my honest review.  Opinions expressed are solely my own.