Book Review: 'If You Were Me and Lived in...Cuba' by Carole P. Roman
Reading Carole P Roman's children's books is as much a pleasure for adults as for children, the reason being that while the books are well illustrated, entertaining and involving, they also share a lesson in interpersonal relations that serve children well. She has now started a new series called A Child's Introduction to Cultures Around the World - the first volume was about Mexico and through a long series we now enter Cuba – and a more propitious timing for this introduction would likely not be possible! This is yet another volume that schools as well as home libraries should notice.
Pictures make solid memories and Roman understands this principle and uses it well. She opens her book with children pointing to the globe, specifically to Cuba just off the southeastern coast of North America. From this lift off she writes and paints about the famous monuments and buildings such as the Castillo del Morro, discusses names common in Mexico, the idea of money exchange, cuisine, games, holidays, the Santiago de Cuba, names for schools and then she ends her book with a page that serves as a pronunciation guide for the Spanish words used in the text.
Roman thinks of everything and if her books do what they suggest they will do, this author will do more to solidify international understanding and relations at this early level of children's education that could change the world than just about any other source! Grady Harp, June 17