Léa, une jeune adolescente de 13 ans vivant à Nantes, adore le théâtre et sa bande de copines qu’elle connait depuis toujours. Seule ombre au tableau, elle vit seule avec son père. Sa maman réside depuis six mois à Chicago pour des raisons professionnelles. Ses parents décident de réunir à nouveau leur petite famille. Pour cela, Léa et son père doivent quitter la France pour les Etats-Unis. L’annonce de cette nouvelle est loin de satisfaire Léa, une adolescente vive et déterminée à prendre sa vie en main. Cette histoire plaira tant aux jeunes ados rêvant d’ailleurs qu’à ceux directement concernés par la problématique de l’expatriation. Ils se reconnaîtront dans les états d’âme de Léa, ses humeurs, ses joies et ses peurs. Un livre pour les pré-ados et jeunes ados expatriés ou sur le point de le.
Thirteen year old Léa lives in Nantes. She loves the theater and the friends she has known her whole life. The only downside is that she lives alone with her father because her mother has been working in Chicago for six months. When Léa’s parents decide to reunite their little family, she and her father must leave France for the United States – which is hardly good news to Léa, a lively teenager determined to take charge of her life.
This story will appeal to pre-teens and young teen Third Culture Kids, or about to become TCKs. They will recognize themselves in Lea’s feelings – her joys and her fears.
THIS BOOK IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN FRENCH
A series of hand-drawn cartoons chronicles the real-life experiences of 3 boys whose dad works for the U.S. State Department. We meet them as small children when the family sets out for their first assignment in Mauritania, and the book follows them through postings in France, Cote d’Ivoire, the U.S., and Turkey where the last two boys graduate from high school. The simple, kid-friendly text, and nicely-drawn pictures describe the boys’ everyday lives (where/what they like to play, what type of school they attend, etc.) as well as sharing some of their adventures visiting interesting places in each of the countries. Though perhaps more enjoyable for expat kids who have plenty of similar adventures, the book does not assume that readers have prior knowledge of diplomacy, and starts by explaining diplomats & embassies. That makes it something that any kid could read to learn more about the lives of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) from the diplomatic sector.
Reading level: age 6-9
Hudson the dog was really excited to get to Paris because his owner told him that dogs get to go everywhere around the city with their owners. He got to go to the bakery and the hairdresser’s and a cafe. But when he arrived at the dog park, he discovered that he couldn’t understand the other dogs! So Hudson enrolled in French classes and started to learn new words to make friends with other expat dogs and Parisian dogs and even got a French girlfriend.
This cute story introduces kids to some basics of moving, like finding the bright side and learning the language and making new friends. Could be fun for little kids who have moved or are preparing to move (or want to visit Paris!).
Reading level: age 5-8 years
This is the first in a series about two Canadian sisters who love to travel the world. The girls travel to Paris and to everything on their list from visiting a bakery to the Louvre to walking on cobblestone streets (which they were doing the whole time without realizing). This is a fun series for kids who like to learn about the world.
Reading level: age 3-10 years
Not to be confused with the 2001 movie of the same name, this film is set in the 1950s, loosely a story of a French diplomatic family in colonial Africa. France Dalens returns to Cameroon as a young adult, and finds herself recalling her childhood living there at a remote outpost. With her parents emotionally distant and preoccupied, her closest friend is the regally handsome houseboy, Protee. As an assortment of Europeans pass through the station staying for extended periods, tension builds in the home. When the advances of France’s lonely mother are rebuffed by Protee, France’s friendship with him is altered as well. This movie is somewhat incohesive and the parts about France as an adult seemed to lack depth or significance (this may reflect a difference in style between American and French filmmaking). Nevertheless, most TCKs would enjoy this portrait of a foreign childhood.
Rated: PG-13
Channe Willis, daughter of a successful American novelist, enjoys her carefree childhood in France until her parents adopt a French boy exactly her age. Her resentment of him and cruel treatment of him makes their relationship turbulent. When her father’s illness causes the family return to the United States during her mid-teens, she and her brother struggle to find their places. It is not until adulthood that they learn to love and respect each other and Channe begins to confront the ghosts of that long-ago sibling rivalry.
Channe’s parents have a very liberal parenting style, and some of their responses to her behavior may offend some people (as may some of Channe’s behavior). However, many of Channe’s experiences as a child, and even as an adolescent searching for love in a new, unfamiliar country, will resonate with TCKs.
