Bia Fish loves her part of river, living under a lily pad with her parents. So when they move upstream to a place her parents call “home” she hates the new food and misses her old friends. Then a little bird tells Bia about how birds migrate between two homes but always belong to the Creator’s sky and that helps Bia Fish to accept that she also has two homes.
What makes this book extra useful for parents and caregivers is that it comes with eight discussion questions at the back of the book to help kids process the concepts of moving, culture shock, making new friends and belonging to more than one home.
Reading level: age 3 to 7 years
Der kleine Hase Löwezahn zieht von Hasenhausen, wo er mit seinen Hasenfreunden lebt, in eine andere Stadt in einem anderen Land. Hier ist er der einzige Hase unter vielen verschiedenen Tieren. Er ist ratlos wie er hier Freunde finden soll, da alle so anders sind als er. Doch als er genauer beobachtet, merkt er, dass die Tiere doch miteinander spielen. Nach längerem Nachdenken weiß er auch warum: Alle diese Tiere haben trotz ihrer Verschiedenheit eine Gemeinsamkeit gefunden die sie verbindet und das Band der Freundschaft entstehen lässt.
This book is also available in English and French
Joshua is from the U.S. but he lives in Ghana. His second best friend (after his dad) is his pet parrot named Johnny . But to his dismay, he has to leave Johnny behind when he and his dad move to Korea to be with his mom.
When he arrives in Korea, everything is very different. Joshua notices that everyone in Korea is staring at him and his parents! Most Koreans haven’t seen someone his color before and they want to touch his hair and take pictures with him. His mom keeps politely telling people not to touch him but Joshua feels like a star! Everyone wants to talk to him.
At the end of the story, Joshua confides in his parents that he still misses his parrot Johnny. They encourage him to take his soccer ball and meet new friends, which he does. He even meets a beautiful Korean crane who he asks to be his new best friend.
Besides covering themes of moving to a new country and settling in, this fantastic little picture book addresses the difficulty of having to leave much-loved pets behind. And it stands out among TCK children’s books because it features an African-American family, and one that moves because of the mom’s job.
Reading level: age 4-8
Jamie is surprised when her parents tell her and her brother that they’re moving to Spain! As she begins to think of it, Fear comes (in a shadowy form) and whispers things that make her afraid. What if she forgets her language? What if she never finds another best friend? As these fears come up, Jamie leaves pieces of her heart all around her town until she’s all out of heart pieces.
Then excitement comes and turns all her worries around. She goes back around town and collects back her heart pieces, each coming with encouragement like, “Home doesn’t have to be just one place,” and “You will learn important lessons wherever you go, they will just be different!”
Reading level: 5-8 years
A little boy is woken up by his parents in the middle of the night and told they have to leave their home and friends and belongings behind. At least he gets to bring his rabbit. On the journey, there’s lots of hurrying and then waiting and the boy’s tummy hurts because he’s trying to keep in his whining. An old lady tells him the story of another boy who had to leave his home suddenly and go to a new home. He grew up to be a great teacher (Jesus).
This sweet short story could be helpful for children who have had to move suddenly or had a difficult time moving. The illustration is sweet and the boy’s squirminess is so relatable!
Reading level: 4 to 7 years
Ernie moves to an Aboriginal community in Northern Australia where his parents work at a hospital. He writes letters to his old friends in each of the 6 seasons telling what he & his new Aboriginal friends are doing. At the end we see that his old schoolmates are studying his new culture in school & have each tried something he’s written about. A creative but highly stylized story; part of a series.
Reading level: ages 6-9 years
