A Great History Supplement – If You Were Me and Live In… series Review

We are studying the Middle Ages in our history this year so I was excited for the opportunity to check out If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 6) brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com. Additionally, we had the opportunity to review If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1), If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2), and If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient China: The Han Dynast as well.

The If You Were Me and Lived In … series is designed to teach children about these wonderful cultures and time periods in history. They are written as if by children who lived during these time periods for children today. The series discusses things about the time period that children are typically curious about such as what they wore, what they ate, jobs they did, art and customer, celebrations and family life, and society as a whole. They are illustrated with wonderful drawings to support what is being discussed.

Each books is between 40 and 80 pages and contains lots about the time period as well as a very handy glossary at the back with terms that are used in the book or during that particular time period. Most of the books have a section on the Famous People of that time period. For instance, the Renaissance Italy and Middle Ages books have a section on Famous People. The Ancient Greece book has a section on the Gods and Goddesses of the time period and Ancient China books has a section on Important People of Ancient China. The text is oversized and bold and easy to read.

If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 6) is a fun and exciting book about the Middle Ages. Since this corresponds with what we are studying in history, I thought this would be great fun to begin reading. We completed reading it in just a week, reading a few pages at a time. Sometimes the kids just asked me to keep going so I did. They all found it fascinating. My son loved learning about the rabbit, cured ha  and herbs hanging from the ceiling and meat pies that were popular for dinners in the Middle Ages.

My daughter loved learning about the fashion and was a little stunned that the book pointed out that marriage might be coming soon for a 13 year old. (gasp) She thought the idea of wooden shoes over regular shoes was a pretty nifty idea.

Some of the vocations of the time were very interesting to both kids. We discussed what they might be if they could choose. Then we talked about how they really wouldn’t have been able to choose if they had, in fact, lived in the Middle Ages.

Since my older daughter studies Mandarin and loves learning anything about China, I thought she would find If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient China: The Han Dynasty interesting – I was right! My son found the section on the toys that the young, Chinese children played with in Ancient China fascinating. He thinks a dragon kite is a great idea. My daughter was impressed the kite was made of silk and bamboo. She also found it interesting that there were only 4 major professions in Ancient China. I liked to point out that the Scholars were the most valued! (smile)

We read through the If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1), the shortest book of all we received, pretty quickly. It was very easy to read and it still supported much of what we were studying in history this year. My daughter was simply horrified that gifts were not considered citizens in Ancient Greece and that only the “lucky” learned to read and write. We had studied Greek and Roman gods and goddesses in the past so learning a little more about them as their relation to the culture of the times was interesting to both kids.

We haven’t read If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2) as a family yet. We will be reading it soon, as this time period is coming up in our studies this year as well. I’m looking forward to reading it with the kids. I read through it and really enjoyed it. I might have even learned a few things (shhh, don’t tell the kids :))

Overall, we really enjoyed the books. They were easy to read and simply JAM PACKED WITH INFORMATION! The kids both enjoyed the books and I think THEY WERE A GREAT ADDITION TO OUR STUDIES! I highly recommend you check out these books and see what you think. They are an excellent resource and a compliment to any history study.

Check out all of the titles brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com –  If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient Greece (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 1), If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2), If You Were Me and Lived in… Elizabethan England (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 3), If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4), If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient China: The Han Dynasty, If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 6), If You Were Me and Lived in…the American West (Volume 7), and If You Were Me and Lived in…Viking Europe. And see what the rest of the TOS Review Crew had to say about them by clicking the banner below.And don’t forget to visit Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com on social media:

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