If You Were Me and Lived in ... Portugal - Carole P. Roman

Summary:  Award winning and best selling author Carole P. Roman travels to beautiful Portugal. This pro active book invites children to think about Portugal's many wonders from the sunny Azores to the wide variety of food. Roman's If You Were Me books have a simple, winning formula: portray children from other countries and explain how familiar items and customs are the same, and how they differ, in the country being discussed... The appeal of Roman's If You Were Me series is that this information is not offered in the bland style of an encyclopedia entry, but rather as part of a tour of real life in India...It's this organic conversational tone that keeps the book interesting and inspires kids' own curiosity for other cultures." Peter Dabbene The Foreword Review Join Carole P. Roman as she takes you to explore the friendly country of Portugal!  (Summary and image from goodreads.com.  I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.)

My Review:  My kids and I love reading Roman's If You Were Me series.  We love visiting each country through her books, learning about their culture, their foods, key phrases, places to visit, etc.  It's a fun way for my kids to realize what an incredible world they're part of.

However. 

I was worried when I received Portugal that the formula had grown stale.  NOT SO!  Hooray!  Roman has included all of the same incredible information we've come to expect, but has shaken things up a bit.  The vocabulary is clear, but it's left to the kids to use the illustrations to translate the words.  I love that.  I love books that encourage them (subconsciously) to learn and to take more in than just the words.  The illustrations are varied as well.  There's a two-page spread of the Azores that is so gorgeous, it made me want to go.  Like, tomorrow.

My Rating:  Five stars