★★★★
Life was fun, and there was plenty to do…There were sporting events, festivals, and dances.
Roman does it again!
In this delightful little story, “you” are transported back to Renaissance Italy to learn all sorts of cool facts about everyday life back then.
Exploration of places in the world brought back undiscovered spices, plants, and animals. People became rich…
There’s so much information about the fashion, jobs, adventures and art of the time.
The author weaves in facts that are both familiar and totally alien to this day and age.
You drank ale or watered wine with your meal because everybody knew water was very dangerous to drink
Also, the illustrations were absolutely lovely! (And illustrations so often make-or-break a children’s book!).
I really enjoyed this one.
I am (always) a bit partial to learning about food, so I found it cool that there was so much overlap between current-day and Renaissance Italy cooking:
Your cook seasoned the food with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, saffron, and pepper…she used oranges and lemons from your orchard in the country to flavor the sauces…She made noodles every day….
I also really enjoyed how Roman talks about the entire family’s careers – from Papa’s shop to Mama’s beauty routines – there was a lot to be learned.
There’s even a fun little appendix at the end for all sorts of cool facts about the artists and even more information about common Renaissance Italy terms.
Definitely a fun one!
with thanks to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Interested in this one from Carole P. Roman? Buy it here: Amazon
Miranda Reads 