A wordless story about “leaving a beloved home, coming to a different place, and…creating a new life for yourself.”
After moving to a new country, a little boy clings to his memories of home until an unexpected event and a joyful girl lead him to discover delightful things in his new home. Though this is (rightly) considered an immigrant story, the boy could just as easily be an Asian TCK…or really, any TCK who grew up in Asia and had to move away. And the story will resonate with any TCK feeling withdrawn and miserable after moving to a new city.
The author, who moved from Korea to the US at age 4 writes: “I hope my story helps you see that you’re not alone.”
Reading level: 5 to 10 years (but really, all ages)
Little Adelina loves to help her father repair airplanes. When her family decides to move to the jungle to be missionary pilots, she has to say goodbye to all the people, places & things she knows & loves. When fear sets in, she finds comfort in her beloved Aviator Bear, and strength in God who gives her “courage bigger than the sky” so she can boldly set out on her new adventure.
This wonderful book for missionary kids has appealing illustrations & a sweet story. The twist at the end brought tears to my eyes.
Reading level: 3 to 7 years
“Collect memories, process the move and celebrate the future with activities, ideas, and games in this workbook.”
This workbook for kids preparing to move internationally was created by an expat mom of four US foreign service TCKs. It is designed to help pre-school & elementary kids to record their memories of the old home, prepare to move, and discover their new home.
This workbook covers different topics than many similar books, and this makes it especially good for TCKs, who are clearly the intended audience. One page, however, talks about Americans who have moved throughout history, which may seem odd to TCKs from other countries.
Reading level: 6 to 11 years
This small, full-color book is written TO kids who will be moving about what to expect and how they may feel about it. It includes variety of activities for kids – some to help them process the move (e.g. “Circle or coloring pictures of things you will miss”); others that are not moving-specific (e.g. mazes, word search, etc). Some things it covers don’t fit typically for moving overseas (e.g. a real estate agent helping you choose between various types of US houses) but would be fine for TCKs moving TO the US from another country.
Reading level: 4 to 10 years (as per the title…)
At over 100 pages, this is one of the most comprehensive workbooks for children preparing to move abroad, and for years it was my favorite workbook for kids preparing to move overseas.
In the book, Ori, the migrating crane, guides children through learning activities balanced with fun crafts & games & color-able illustrations.
Like most kid workbooks on moving, it has the standard “about me,” preparing to move, and feelings about moving sections, though this workbook covers those topics more thoroughly than most. But for TCKs-to-be, it also has a long section about “my new country” that prompts kids to find out key things about their new location beforehand. After kids move, there are several pages of suggestions and activities to help them adjust to the new place, ending at last with a “Migrating Bird Certificate” of accomplishment for completing the cross-cultural move. But the book doesn’t end there! It also includes a section for repatriation at the end of the overseas stay.
Ages 8-12 years
This workbook is also available in German.
Though not written specifically about moving overseas, this book does an excellent job addressing kids’ feelings about moving. In full-color with adorable illustrations, it begins by explaining change and goes on to teach kid-friendly strategies for handling emotions like sadness, anger & worry using behavioral therapy techniques. Kids are given ways to try these out and encouraged to put their favorites into their “Sad Sack” “Mad Sack” and “Worry Sack” to pull out when needed. The book also does a good job helping kids say goodbye well, and covers some parts of settling in.
The content is relevant to a broad age range from young children through teens, but the format makes it best suited to elementary kids. Younger children will need parents to assist with the reading. While teens would likely consider this too childish, those with younger siblings could benefit from the strategies it teaches. Parents could orchestrate this by going through the book as a whole family “for the sake of the younger kids.”
Reading level: 6-10 years
