If You Were Me and Lived in... Hungary: A Child's Introduction to Culture Around the World (Volume 14) in Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie

Dec 16, 2015 Sarah rated it it was amazing

The illustrations of this book and all in the series are great! I love the globes that help my daughter to understand geography. And the colors are vibrant and the details really well done. Another great book by Roman.

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Dec 29, 2014 Charles rated it it was amazing

All of the countries in Europe have a recorded history that goes back thousands of years and in this book Roman mentions King Stephen, made king of Hungary in the year 1001. His ascension is celebrated on January 1 and it is a major holiday in Hungary called Saint Istvhan’s Day. This is one of the facts in this book that informs the young English-speaking reader that the people of other countries have histories different from theirs.
In the United States public figures fall all over themselves i All of the countries in Europe have a recorded history that goes back thousands of years and in this book Roman mentions King Stephen, made king of Hungary in the year 1001. His ascension is celebrated on January 1 and it is a major holiday in Hungary called Saint Istvhan’s Day. This is one of the facts in this book that informs the young English-speaking reader that the people of other countries have histories different from theirs.
In the United States public figures fall all over themselves in uttering a phrase equivalent to “American exceptionalism.” This indicates a primacy that includes longevity, which is false. Europeans only barely knew if at all, of the existence of the Western Hemisphere when Europe had already put nearly two thousand years of recorded history behind it. Pointing out major events in the past of a country is a way of imparting some perspective.
Other facts about Hungary that appear in the book are some of the common names for children, the words for mother and father, the name of the capital city, the currency, common foods, most popular sports and the word for school. In a nice difference from other books in the series, Roman notes that the very popular puzzle “Rubik’s Cube” was invented by a Hungarian and that the largest lake in Central Europe is in Hungary.
The general structure of the book is to have the white large letters on greenish-black background text on the left side with the associated image on the right. This makes the text very easy to read. The images were created using subdued colors so the young eye will not be overwhelmed.
There is one minor flaw in the book and it appears on page two. After using the word “landlocked” there is the sentence, “That means your country is surrounded on all four borders by other countries and no ocean.” The young reader may interpret that to mean that the word landlocked means both four borders and no ocean instead of just no ocean. Dropping the word “four” would have made it clear.
Overall, this is an excellent addition to the library of work that will further the development of understanding of other cultures among K-12 children in countries distant from Hungary.

This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review appears on Amazon.
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Feb 05, 2015 Melanie Adkins rated it it was amazing

We haven't traveled in awhile, so why don't we head to Hungary? There are many places we can visit here. Let's start by learning where we are. Hungary is a landlocked country. It's surround by land. We could go to the Hungarian Parliament building and take photos? Of course we have to try some of the local favorite foods. Maybe we'll even be in time for St. Steven's Day. Then we can explore one or two of the one hundred and twelve caves they have there.

It's a pleasure to read these books. They ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Miranda Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: received-to-review

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Mar 15, 2015 Shelly Itkin rated it it was amazing

Did you know that Hungary is a country that is surrounded on all four of its borders by other countries and not any water?

If you lived in Budapest, you would be living in the capital and one of the biggest cities. You would probably name your sons Laszlo or Peter or even Attila and if you were a girl you might be named Suzanna or Judit.

Unlike us you would be calling your mommy Anya and your daddy Apa. They are very different then the names we call our parents. Your grandma’s house would be ca ...more

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Mar 16, 2015 Chris Meads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens, picture-book

A very interesting children's story book on Hungary. It's filled with facts about the country and how people live, talks about the capital city Budapest. I didn't know that the city is divided by a river and Buda is one side and Pest is the other.

This book is chock full of information for children to learn about other countries cultures.

I love how the pictures bring the information to life and that Carole gives the spelling, meaning and pronunciation of various words.

This is one great series I t ...more

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Jul 19, 2022 Jessica Adams rated it it was amazing

"If You Were Me and Lived in... Hungary" is a fun and educational book. Kids will enjoy learning a little geography, history, and even science in this book since it reports that there are many caves in Hungary. There are pronunciations throughout the book with a key at the back of the book for learning different words used in Hungary. Kids will learn about different names, places, and food of the country. This book helps to make learning fun and would be a great resource for teachers and homesch ...more

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