Though more of an immigrant story than a TCK one, Almost American Girl has many strong TCK themes throughout the graphic novel. This true story is told as a memoir in pictures by Korean American author Robin Ha. Robin is suddenly moved to Alabama, USA from Seoul, Korea without even being able to say goodbye to her friends or bring her most precious belongings. She just thought they were going on vacation! Now she has a new step-family who don’t seem to like her and she can’t understand anyone at her new school.
Despite the culture shock, her loneliness and her anger at her mother for suddenly uprooting her, Robin eventually makes friends and finds solace in comics and manga. She gets better at English and is surprised to find so many signatures in her yearbook at the end of the year. But when her mother’s new marriage fails, they move yet again.
In Virginia, Robin finds more international kids like herself and even Korean friends, and finally feels like she belongs. At the end of the book she visits Korea for the first time since she left and realizes that the country she has been longing for doesn’t even feel like home any more. She has changed and so have her old friends in Seoul. “I didn’t exactly fit in Korea or America,” she thinks to herself. And that was okay.
This TCK parenting book takes a proactive approach to raising children, looking at how early childhood experiences and the emotional health of the parents contribute to raising healthy kids. Lauren Wells emphasizes the very real effects that childhood experiences, especially trauma, exert in adult health.
This book is also very practical. It will teach parents how to address trauma in the moment so that the grief doesn’t pile up and have lasting effects. Different talking points, activities and conversation starters are given for children of different ages so that you have the tools you need to address issues or proactively build resilience throughout your child’s whole growing up.
If I had a complaint about this book it would be that she can focus on one segment of TCK tendencies and ignore the others. For example, she focuses heavily on the “chameleon” nature of TCKs to blend in, and less on “screamers” who refuse to conform or “wallflowers” who try to disappear during transitions. As a screamer myself, I felt rather underrepresented. She also focuses on MKs who get the itch to move every few years but I know many MKs who didn’t experience this at all. For some, they attach themselves to the first place they can settle into and never want to leave again. These TCKs may need a different kind of help.
Overall, this is an excellent book for parents, especially those parents of young TCKs who wish to build a solid foundation for their kids’ emotional health. It’s rather comprehensive without dragging itself out. Highly recommend.
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
A memoir of a missionary kid processing her experience of growing up abroad, and especially of going to boarding school as a young child, “Letters Never Sent” takes the reader through a process of healing and seeking closeness with God. Written in the form of letters to her parents (the original title is more apt: “Letters I Never Wrote”), this is her story from early childhood through adulthood as the discovery that pain and purpose can co-exist begins to bring comfort & healing.
While unmasking some of the darker sides of missions and especially the family separations that often go along with it, Van Reken still honors the good in her experiences and how much she loves her and parents and loves God. She doesn’t look at her experiences in black and white but still gives helpful advice to those who are on a similar journey towards recovery and to parents of TCKs who don’t want to repeat her parents’ mistakes.
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
This is a strange story of Valentine’s Day love set in an International School. Cupid & Dove visit an elementary school seeking to bring love but instead creating confusion. Written by an 11 year old TCK in the form of a (very) long poem, it’s a sweet book but the cadence of the poem changes a lot and can be difficult to follow. The author includes his own tips for TCKs and parents of TCKs who are moving at the end. There’s also an odd bonus poem about fish dying.
Reading level: age 10-12
