Customer Reviews

If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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I really love this series of books, and this one is no exception. They make it very interesting for the child (and parent!) to read and give lots of good info. Many times I will learn something new myself! For those teaching in a "classical" approach, I highly recommend these books.

But I would suggest reading them first to make sure there are no things contrary to what you want to get across to the student; or discussing the book with your child (even better!). In this book, I came across a few things that may or may not be an issue for you.

First, they made it out as if women had JOBS back then... as if they were the same as the men's jobs. I don't think that is quite an accurate representation of how it was... yes, the women did chores, helped with animals, farming, etc... but essentially they were almost always housewives. I wish they had touched on that a bit better instead of fudging the lines there.

Second, they talked about children not sassing their parents and doing what they were asked as if it was PAST tense. Maybe my kids are odd in that regard (maybe because they are still young! LOL), but mine don't really talk back to me, so I didn't appreciate them making it out as if that was odd or something. And of course children still do what parents ask of them. They may fight it, but a grounded kid is a grounded kid, right? :) The general expectation in even today's society is that kids generally are to do what they parents ask, so it was odd the way they portrayed it.

Third, they very much did the same thing with spanking for misbehaving. Now, I understand that this is a very controversial subject, but the book said that "back then, parents still believed that it was okay to spank or paddle". Okay, fair enough... true. But some parents think the same thing nowadays, and the way they spent a whole paragraph on it, insinuating that parents wouldn't do such a ridiculous thing today is not at all an accurate portrayal... last I heard, some parents STILL do this today, even if it's not as commonplace as it once was.

They did the same with midwives and doctors, and I know some people who have done home births so if you have energy on this...

Obviously these are minor things that you can discuss to give a bit better historical perspective rather than the one that the book portrayed, just wanted to give a heads up of a few areas that in my mind, weren't quite accurately portrayed (which is unusual for this series). I don't really have an issue with the book and am happily passing it on to my children, but I am aware that others may very well have a huge amount of energy on them, so I wanted to give a heads up.

Really great series overall, and highly recommend!

This book tells what it would be like if you lived in Colonial Williamsburg. Some pages even have little rhymes that go with the topics. This poem is about what women and girls wore:
"Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders
Warming her pretty little toes.
Her mother came and caught her
And whipped her little daughter,
For spoiling her nice new clothes."

I recommend that you read it because it's a really interesting book and it tells about really interesting topics. I really enjoyed it.
Sarah in Nebraska

In preparation for an upcoming trip to Colonial Williamsburg, I read this book with my three oldest children, ages 9, 7, and 5. This book answers a lot of questions about what life was like then, including housing, pets, clothing, daily routines, etc. The text was accompanied by colorful and helpful illustrations. The book ends with a short bit about the upcoming Revolutionary War, as well as a 1-page explanation of the establishment of Colonial Williamsburg.

While some of the text did go slightly over my 5-year-old's head, I felt no need to edit the content on her behalf. The text does mention slaves, and that they could be beaten or separated from their families. But, my daughter is able to understand this happened some time ago, and there were no graphic details that would be inappropriate for those of a younger age.

I would definitely recommend this book to those with children of elementary school age. I have also been impressed with several other books in this series.

It's Marxism for little people.

There is the gentry class.
Then there are the middling sort -- merchants, freedmen, tradesmen, skilled craftspeople.
Then there are farmers and slaves.

Seriously, the book calls us "the middling sort" over and over.
Anyway, the book feels chopped-up as it compares the living conditions and fashions of these three separate groups of colonists.

Perhaps it would have been easier to read if the book were separated into 3 sections: Wealthy Landowners and Gentry/Middling Townspeople/Poor or Enslaved

This book *is* well-illustrated.

My 8yr old daughter has begged for this book after seeing it in her classroom at school. Even though we have visited Williamsburg extensively on many occasions, she is still eager to pick up this book. So glad to have our own copy now!

Wonderfully illustrated with a great question format, this book is a great way to get ready for a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. This book was highly recommended on [...] for kids to get them excited before taking a trip to Williamsburg Virginia. Reading before getting there will really enrich your child's experience.

This is a great book for teaching about early American history on an elementary level. The book is written in an interesting question and answer format. I frequently read it to my students out of order, asking them to pick a question and then I read them the answer. I teach fifth grade (10-11 year-olds) and the age range is listed as 4-8.

Presented in a lively question and answer fashion, this volume satisfies curiosities that both children and adults frequently have about life in the colonial capital of Virginia.

Family, work, food, government, fashion, and more are all presented in an easily understandable and fascinating manner. Well done!

I'm teaching Early American History to Japanese adults who have an "elementary" level of English and virtually no experience in studying American history. The "If You Lived in ....." books targeted for US elementary school children is ideal for college students in Japan. Just the title causes discussion. eg. Why do you spell Willimasburg with ..burg but then spell Pittsburgh with "h"?

One of my favorite books growing up was a companion book in this series, called If You Lived in Colonial Times. The illustrations in all of these books is the best! Detailed drawings show what clothes the adults and kids would be wearing. Each page answers a different question like, "What happened when a child misbehaves?" Kids can learn a lot from these books. I plan to collect all of them for my children.