ABOUT THE “IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN…” BOOKS:
The “If You Were Me and Lived In…” books are an introduction to customs and cultures around the world. The series is a collection of twenty-two books designed to help children experience life from the perspective of a variety of other children from all around the world, in the hopes that they’ll see how similar we all really are.
The idea of countries, borders, and customs is sometimes difficult for youngsters to grasp. Carole breaks things down into various topics that even the youngest child can identify with – what their name might be, where the country is located, what they would call their parents, what kind of food would they eat, what one thing identifies the country, like a landmark. Children finish each book able to identify both similarities and differences, and with the added of having multiple books, can compare how life is all over the world.
The series includes books about the following countries:
- Australia
- Brazil
- China
- Cuba
- Egypt
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Israel
- Italy
- Kenya
- Mexico
- Norway
- Peru
- Portugal
- Poland
- Russia
- Scotland
- South Korea
- Turkey
PURCHASE THE “IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN…” BOOKS ON AMAZON HERE
*****
“Star Bright”
By Carole P. Roman
Ugh, a one star review ruins my near perfect rating of one of my books. The reviewer didn’t get it. I put too much information in or maybe it wasn’t enough. The illustrations were poorly done, sometimes it’s too light, other times too dark. They want to know why I put a certain fact in, or how could I have gotten it so wrong, didn’t I research, they demand!
Writing a book is a personal and subjective experience. You pick a subject because it piques your interest and start assembling information. You cull through mounds of ideas, tangents, or tidbits of juicy facts and choose what will represent what is going to enhance the story.
You pick an illustrator based on their samples. You want someone to be able to take your words and give them life the way you see it in your head. Your artist may come from a totally different background, they may have a whole new perspective, but two strangers work in tandem with the sole purpose of making the other look better.
You check your information on the trusty internet, in the case of the culture books, by contacting people from that particular place. There are language barriers, sometimes, you don’t understand what they are trying to say, but you persist. Sometimes, you speak to two people from the same place, you may get five different answers representing what region where they were born or the level of their education.
You press publish with the intent of pleasing people, hearing how you made them want to learn more. Your book opened a way for them to discuss culture and customs with their child.
You put yourself on the line, risked your reputation and have the distinct honor to read happy reviews of readers who connected. It’s wonderful and thrilling.
You learn that you can’t please everybody. The greatest feeling is that you were satisfied and the most important person to please is yourself.
*****
ABOUT CAROLE P. ROMAN:
Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of the Captain No Beard series. Both Captain No Beard-An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate’s Life and Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis have received the Kirkus Star of Exceptional Merit. The first book in the series was named to Kirkus Reviews Best 2012. Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis has been named to Kirkus Reviews Best of 2015. Each book in the series has won numerous awards including the NABE Pinnacle Award, IAN Award, Moonbeam Award 2014, National Indie Excellence Award Finalist, Shelf Media Outstanding Series Award, ForeWord Review Five Star and Finalist in the Book of the Year, and Reader’s Views Children’s Book of the Year 2013.
Carole P. Roman is also the author of the award-winning non-fiction culture series, “If You Were Me and Lived in…”, that explores customs and cultures around the world. She has co-authored a self-help book, Navigating Indieworld A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing. She lives on Long Island with her husband and near her children and grandchildren. Carole invites readers to connect with her via her website.
