“If You Were Me and Lived In….KENYA” by Carole P. Roman

JAMBO! (Hello)

This is a children’s book telling about life, and the way people live, in the country of Kenya. Each of the twenty-six pages is colored, and half the pages contain brightly illustrated pictures. This soft, paper-bound-book, is aimed toward three to eight-year-old children.

This book contains information about Kenya including the type of money used, the people that live in the country and the geographic location on the globe. All of it is presented in a fun and simple way that children can understand. The back of the book contains a list of words associated with Kenya, and the way to pronounce them.

The author does a great job of pointing out the things that are the same, and things that are different, for people in other parts of the world. For instance, she shares common names for children in Kenya. They are Kiano, Jaramogi, or Gacoki for boys, and Akeyo, Kioni, or Dalia for girls. Children can relate to this because everyone has a name, but the Kenyan names are also different from the familiar ones in their country.

Ms. Roman also makes this point again when telling about playtime, an activity all children like, and are familiar with. But in Kenya, the children like to play a game called Cricket, which American children most likely are unfamiliar with. Again, this is a great example of something being both alike, and different, at the same time.

As children either read this book, or listen while it is read to them, things they are not familiar with are presented, but children also see that some differences contain common ground. The eye-catching colors and pictures in the book should also be attractive to children. Reading this book is a fun way for learning to take place while it is in the disguise of a story. I recommend this 5-star book to anyone wanting a painless and entertaining way for youngsters to learn about the geography, culture, and people in Kenya.

I’d like to thank the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.

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