Two new children's books reviews: "If you were me and lived in Australia" and "The Unlucky Teacher and her Koalas"

Today I have two new children’s books to review. Two books I would highly recommended to teachers and parents to introduce children to very important lessons. 

The first is from the “If you were me and lived in…” series by Carole P. Roman. Ms. Roman is a former teacher when she and her husband started a successful family business. She enjoys time with her grandchildren. She currently lives on Long Island with her husband. Her teaching career is reflected in this book due to the fun way she introduces the country and its culture.

This book is about the country of Australia. I really enjoyed this book. I think is a fun way of introducing different countries and cultures to children. The illustration were simple and colorful. The author included the phonetic pronunciations of new words such as Australia and Aussies. The book also introduces different aspects of the culture such as its major cities, the natural wonder like the Great Barrier Reef and a national holiday, January 26^th. This is a great book to introduce children to different counties. Ms. Roman has already published a book about Mexico and a new book about France is in the works. I look forward to getting these books and any new ones in this series. The recommended age for this book is 3-8 years old. I feel that 8 might be too old. I would put the age range at 3-5.  

Second book is “The story of the Unlucky Teacher and her koalas” by Nina Johnson. Ms. Johnson is a passionate teacher who taps into her students’ natural ability to learn. She is currently working as an academic literary coach for the Southeastern Region of Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. She uses her knowledge about the challenges facing students today and transforms it into a delightful story about meeting the challenge. 

The story takes place in a quaint little village called All-We-Do-Is-Test. She was the Unlucky Teacher because she taught children who weren’t “normal” and wouldn’t be able to pass the annual Big Mountain Climbing Contest. But on the day of the contest, the Unlucky Teacher’s students revealed something special and passed the test!

This book teaches the lesson of using the tools one has been given in order to meet a challenge and prevail. According to the author’s description, this book represents the challenge in America’s public schools. It illustrates the importance of having teachers who believe in their students to achieve their goals despite the challenges or limitations. The illustrations are beautifully done. The message may be too deep for younger readers. I would recommend 5-8 years old as the recommended age range. However, younger readers will story the story of the koalas despite not understanding the deeper meaning.

“If you were me and lived in Australia” is available at www.caroleproman.com and www.amazon.com. 

“The Unlucky Teacher and her Koalas is available at www.outskirtspress.com/theluckyteacher.

P.S. I would like to thank Carole P. Roman who sent all the goodies with her book. It was a awesome surprise and my daughter enjoys playing with them.