TCK author Ann Liang grew up between China and Australia and draws on her own childhood experiences to write “If You Could See the Sun,” a fun YA romance novel set in Beijing. The book is about Alice, a Chinese/ American scholarship student at an elite Beijing boarding school. Surrounded by wealthy students, Alice is focused on her grades and set on beating her academic rival Henry. Then suddenly Alice goes from unpopular nobody to actually invisible. She can’t control when she turns invisible but still decides to use her powers for something useful and starts a lucrative side-business. As the jobs she takes become higher and higher stakes, she has to decide what she can justify for the sake of income.
It’s definitely a fun read, and I loved the chemistry between the academic rivals. The ending was a bit morally questionable and there is a good amount of swearing, so if you’re put off by that take note. No sex scenes, just a kiss. I’d recommend this book for high schoolers or older, though some middle schoolers would enjoy it as well.
This isn’t written as a “TCK book” but instead marketed to a wider audience. I enjoyed the international school context and seeing some reflections from the main character on being bi-cultural and the way moving countries affected her. The TCK themes are more subtle since the focus is on the characters and the plot. This book actually came to my attention in a list of other YA fiction since it’s a genre I enjoy reading for fun, and I noticed that the main character happened to be a TCK!
This workbook is a companion to Lauren Wells’s first book, The Grief Tower. In Unstacking Your Grief Tower, the principles of the grief tower metaphor are broken down into applicable sections for adult TCKs (aTCKs) and each chapter ends with reflection questions and space for the reader to write their answers.
TCK life is full of losses from moving and being in a mobile community where others are coming and going around you. Taking the time to process the accumulated grief is important and this short workbook is a great resource to help with that.
This autobiographical collection of essays was a joy to read. Adele Barlow is a TCK with Malaysian and Kiwi parents who grew up between Hong Kong and New Zealand. Her search for identity and meaning is a very relatable TCK issue and she writes about it in a fresh way, sharing anecdotes from her moves, relationships and therapy sessions.
I’ve read a lot of stories and essays about TCK identity and sometimes get tired of them but I enjoyed Barlow’s writing style and her candidness. I found myself cheering on her progress and eager to see the conclusions she came to in her self reflection.
“TCKs: A Gift To Care For” is an excellent addition to comprehensive books about TCKs. I would say this differs from Pollock and Van Reken’s classic “Third Culture Kids” book in that there is a focus on developmental stages, child psychology and it includes many many practical activities for parents to do with their children. These activities help children to integrate experiences and thoughts into their bodies for a holistic approach to TCK care.
This book is on the larger side (405 pages) which may seem daunting, but it’s used best when you pick and choose the chapters that are relevant to you and your kids. You don’t need to read the whole thing at once but look for the information and activities that are best suited to your current needs. And then open the book again later when you want something else!
Included in the chapters sections are:
- A Gift to Care For
- Transitions and Emotions
- Identity and Beliefs
- Relationships and Globalization
- Stress and Structure
- Grief and Joy
- Developmental and Long-term Goals
- Protection and Boundaries
- Debriefing and Storytelling
- The Power of Getting Together
- What Can We Do?
Available in English and Swedish now with Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish coming soon.
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
Ob in der Auslands-Niederlassung einer Firma, einer Missionsstation oder einer diplomatischen Vertretung – jährlich steigt die Zahl der Kinder, die in unterschiedlichen Kulturkreisen aufwachsen. Authentisch und sorgfältig recherchiert beschreibt dieses Buch, was das Leben dieser sogenannten ‘Third Culture Kids’ ausmacht, welchen besonderen Problemen sie begegnen und welche speziellen Chancen sich ihnen eröffnen. Denn unmittelbarer als ihre Altersgenossen lernen diese Kinder sowohl die Freuden des Entdeckens als auch die Erfahrungen schmerzhaften Verlustes kennen. Es gelten andere Gesetze für ihren Reifungsprozess, sie gehen andere Wege auf der Suche nach ihrer Identität und sie sind herausgefordert, jenseits aller Ortswechsel eine Heimat zu finden. In Interviews, Gedichten und Berichten lassen Pollock und Van Reken die TCKs zu Wort kommen. Aus ihren Zeugnissen arbeiten sie die charakterlichen und emotionalen Grundstrukturen heraus, die Kinder mit diesem Hintergrund in der Mehrzahl entwickeln.
This is the German edition of THIRD CULTURE KIDS by David Pollock & Ruth Van Reken
