Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
It’s time for another Homeschool Review Crew post! I’ve had the privilege to try out some amazing products in the short time that I’ve been a part of the HRC, and I am so thankful that I have been given this opportunity to try out some different options for our homeschool, including new-to-me author, Carole P. Roman.
This month, my children and I have added to our library four new books from Carole P. Roman’s assorted series. We had a couple of fun books–imagining life as a pirate with Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate’s Life Vol. 1 and all the different careers we could pursue with Can a Princess be a Firefighter?
Of course, my six-year-old loved the princess book as she loves to pretend of all the things she can be and still wear a crown! She asked me to read this book over and over to her and even got involved, noticing sight words she has been learning in our regular school day.
Unfortunately, Captain No Beard was not received as well as the princess was.
“I just don’t like it very much because she keeps using the same pictures,” moaned my nine-year-old.
I tried to read it with silly voices and really get into the spirit of the characters, but my children just didn’t seem to enjoy it. They also didn’t like the repetitiveness. I think this book may be better suited for younger ages. Personally, I thought the book was fun and engaging, and the pictures were well done. But I do agree that it would have been nice to see more variety in the artwork. Oh, well! Every book can’t be our favorite!
We also had the chance to review two books from Carole P. Roman’s history series. Since we were studying Norway and the Vikings at the time, I requested If You Were Me and Lived in…Norway and If You Were Me and Lived in…Viking Europe.
I was a little skeptical at first that my children would like these books–especially the one about the Vikings because it seemed abnormally thick for a book of this type. I decided to break it up into sections and read parts of it to them each day to keep them interested. They actually really enjoyed it and would ask me to continue reading! They loved the colorful artwork and enjoyed pretending to be vikings. They even tried to learn some of the language, which Carole P. Roman graciously included to help expand the study. Even I learned many new things about the daily life of a viking!
The Norway book was much shorter but just as enjoyable. The vocabulary in this book opened up some good discussions about the people who live that far north in this world. They gathered round to learn about the foods, activities, and people of Norway. We discussed the Northern Lights and dreamed of what it would be like living in a land of snow (especially since our snow days have been less than eventful this year!).
I am so thankful that we had the blessing of adding these four books to our library. To be honest, I had no prior knowledge of Carole P. Roman; but after reviewing her books, I have researched her series and found that she has written quite a lot of books that would be beneficial to any school library and for all ages! I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was at least one book that each of my children chose as their favorite.
If you haven’t heard of Carole P. Roman, I highly recommend you check out her books! But don’t just take my word for it! Click on the banner below and read some other amazing reviews from our crew!
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