This excellent book for children has sections (5 chapters each) about preparing to move; moving; exploring the new culture; settling in; dealing with “the realities”; and moving on. In each chapter expat kids, ages 8-13, share their own experiences, then the author answers common questions & closes with a “Real Life Tip.” “The Kids’ Guide to Living Abroad” is relevant for elementary/primary students and above.
Kids and parents can read each chapter as it becomes relevant rather than all at once and sections can be skipped if they don’t apply. A lot of ground is covered!
Reading level: age 8 to 12 years
This is a story about a girl starting school at an International School overseas (“Detinu” is “United” spelled backwards). A typical book about starting a new school, but with a TCK twist – the new classmates are from all over the world. Sydney is nervous to start 3rd grade but by the end of the day she has the beginnings of new friendships and is optimistic about the coming year.
Reading level: age 7 to 10 years
Madeleine L’Engle, author of the Wrinkle in Time series, drew on her own childhood experiences of Swiss boarding school and a nomadic lifestyle to write this boarding school romance novel.
When Philippa (nicknamed Flip) is sent from Connecticut to Switzerland she struggles to adjust. Out of place and teased by the other girls, she must learn to overcome her self-pity and shyness. Flip finds a true friend in Paul, a war orphan with a past full of questions, and together they grow in confidence (on and off their skis), overcoming great losses in their pasts. The slow transformation Flip undergoes is wonderful to watch: from the awkward serious girl who sees school as imprisonment to a brave friend.
And Both Were Young doesn’t cover the normal TCK themes seen in other young adult fiction (cultural identity, reentry, etc.) but has a matter-of-fact approach to making friends and readjusting to life after the loss of loved ones. It’s the kind of book you can enjoy as a young girl (or boy) and reread throughout your whole life, going back to the Swiss Alps and châteaus with Flip and Paul again and again.
