By: Carole P. Roman
Illustrated by: Mateya Arkova
Published: March 24, 2016
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Non-Fiction
Roman has taken her much loved cultural series IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN...and changed it to a historical look at ancient civilizations. The first in the series, Ancient Greece, explores the history of its culture through words and pictures. This series of books is written for an older group of kids rather than her series on countries. This series includes more historical details with more words on the pages. But, it still gives us the perspective of a child during that time in history to put kids into the time-period.
Ancient Greece is an important part of our own history including the foundation of our legal and government systems, our literature and philosophy, and even the Olympics. This is a perfect way to start the series by introducing children to one of the oldest cultures in our history.
The books are arranged much like the cultural series offering examples of names, the food you would eat, and what a typical day would look like if you grew up during the time of Ancient Greece. Children will learn examples of the language and be able to visualize the setting with the softly drawn illustrations.
I think kids would be surprised to read that children during Ancient Greece could drink wine because they were worried about water carrying diseases. I bet they would also think it is silly to imagine their father eating while reclining on a cushion and eating with only one hand during their supper time.
Children will also learn about the clothing people wore and the jobs their parents would do. There is also information about the gods that were worshiped during this time and what kids did for fun.
This book offers lots of information in an easy-to-learn format for upper elementary kids. This series is perfect for classroom reports or homeschool settings.
The Han Dynasty
By: Carole P. Roman
Illustrated by: Mateya Arkova
Published: June 26, 2016
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Non-Fiction
Ancient China goes back almost two thousand years to the year 150 AD. From 206 BC to 220 AD, the Han Dynasty ruled over China organizing the government and establishing one of the longest dynasties in its culture. During this time, poetry and literature were encouraged and porcelain was created.
Everyone in the family had an important role to play and the father was the head of the household. Other family members would also live in the house with you and your grandparents would hold a very respectful role in your family.
Arkova's illustrations show the beautiful silk kimonos worn by the women on ancient China as well as the furnishings in the home. Girls education was much different from the boys as girls were thought to not need an opinion and only need to know how to be a good wife and mother.
Religion and culture were very important to the Chinese and the back of the book includes a list of important people during ancient China as well as a glossary of terms. I think children will be fascinated by the extreme differences from the ancient China culture and today.
By: Carole P. Roman
Illustrated by: Mateya Arkova
Published: December 13, 2016
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Non-Fiction
This piece of history is one most children will probably not know much about. Roman gives us the perspective of a child's life during the ancient Mali Empire. She chose to feature a child that grew up with privilege and is whose father was a general in the army. Because of this, readers will learn about the government and how kings and other respected leaders (like her grandfather) ran their empire.
I realized that I had much to learn from this book and found it's culture to be quite interesting. It didn't surprise me that much like the other books in this series, girls are not as respected as boys and their roles focus more on household and family chores. I think this series opens up an opportunity to have a conversation with girls and boys about how the roles of women and men have changed over that last several thousand years.
Arkova's illustrations show the vivid colors in their clothing and the simply shaped homes that were common in Mali, Her attention to detail including wrinkles in the grandfather's face and tears to show his emotion will show kids the importance of the history and retelling stories.
This particular book has won the 2016 Blue Ribbon Award from the Homeschool Review Crew as a Favorite History Supplement. It has also won the Best Series away for 2016 by Shelf Unbound. It's also been named a Top Back to Homeschool Resource.
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| Carole P. Roman |
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1 comment:
I loved studying ancient civilizations so I bet I would have loved these books as a kid.
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