“If You Were Me and Lived in…Cuba” by Carole P. Roman

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN…CUBA

Carole P. Roman
CreateSpace (2017)
ISBN 9781545100769
Reviewed by Russ Cramer (age 5) for Reader Views Kids (12/17)

“If You Were Me and Lived in…Cuba” by Carole P. Roman is about studying the world and how to make a difference when you study the world. The book had people speaking Spanish, which was good because Spanish is spoken in Cuba. It tells the basics of what it is like to live in Havana.

I really liked that it had Spanish words in it and it was talking about another nation that isn’t Tennessee, where I live.  There isn’t anything I did not like about the book.

I think I like the art for the most part. The earth looked good, but I didn’t like how the people on the cover were drawn. I liked how they were drawn on the inside. I liked the real life people in the picture of the fort.

I recommend “If You Were Me and Lived in…Cuba” by Carole P. Roman to other kids because they might like it and learn about Cuba.

Parent’s Note

Russ seemed to enjoy this book more than I thought he would. When we were talking through some of the sections (especially the food section), both Russ and my 8 year-old daughter Willow were interested in hearing about the Spanish names for each of the food items. This is something I like about this book series: the use of actual terms from that location, along with a pronunciation guide showing how to pronounce them. I also like that it gives a good, simple introduction to an area, including maps, key areas, family members, food, and festivals. I also learned some cool things about Cuba that I didn’t know before; however, it does leave out any sense of recent history. It makes a great guide to read every so often and to ask questions so that my kids can be “armchair world travelers” and hopefully instill an actual love of the world (and not just our home).