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 documentary explores the unique challenges of growing up as a military BRAT, including rapid transitions that doesn’t allow you to fully adjust to any one culture, formation by the military subculture that is unlike that of any specific country, and the impact this has one’s adult life outside of that environment. It consists of multiple interviews with people from several different countries, and footage from post-war Germany and Japan.
Bia Fish loves her part of river, living under a lily pad with her parents. So when they move upstream to a place her parents call “home” she hates the new food and misses her old friends. Then a little bird tells Bia about how birds migrate between two homes but always belong to the Creator’s sky and that helps Bia Fish to accept that she also has two homes.
What makes this book extra useful for parents and caregivers is that it comes with eight discussion questions at the back of the book to help kids process the concepts of moving, culture shock, making new friends and belonging to more than one home.
Reading level: age 3 to 7 years
This book is rather different from other entries on this site. It’s part autobiographical and part treatise on what it means to belong. Greg Cole’s TCK background of growing up in Indonesia informs his understanding of belonging, since he grew up in a highly mobile community and his third culture-ness makes him different from most “normal” monocultural people. Another large aspect of Cole’s identity that informs his treatise on belonging is his sexual orientation and religion. As a celibate gay Christian, Cole doesn’t fit into the typical stereotypes of the LGBT+or Christian communities. Where does he really belong if he can’t find people who look and think like him? He proposes that similarities are not what tie people to each other, but that we can belong to each other in deeper ways.
I’d recommend this book to MKs and other TCKs who are struggling to “fit in” and find belonging outside the TCK bubble. For those who aren’t Christians, some of the messages about homosexuality may be unwelcome but the main points of the book are not about sexuality or arguing for or against celibacy.
Benito hat eine Riesenreise hinter sich: Vier Jahre lang haben seine Eltern in Jerusalem gearbeitet – eine aufregende Zeit für den kleinen Weltenbummler und seine Geschwister.
Natürlich hat er auch einen dicken Reisekoffer voller Erinnerungen mitgebracht. Einen Teil seiner spannenden, lustigen, ernsten und absolut lehrreichen Geschichten hat seine Mutter schon in dem Buch “Reise nach Jerusalem” niedergeschrieben. Doch nun ist Benito bereits 12 Jahre, viele Souvenirs hat er noch gar nicht ausgepackt und er kann manche Erlebnisse ganz anders einordnen und beschreiben. Von der internationalen Schule, an der fast täglich ein Fest steigt, bis zu den verschiedenen Haustierchen, die man am besten mit Schnapsflaschen jagt – das Leben in Israel gleicht dem kunterbunten Basar in Jerusalem. Es lohnt sich, hineinzutauchen in dieses Gewimmel der unterschiedlichsten Kulturen, Religionen und Völker.
Four years ago, Benito returned from his huge journey: his parents worked in Jerusalem for four years – an exciting time for the little globetrotter and his siblings.
Of course, he also brought a thick suitcase full of memories. His mother wrote down some of his exciting, funny, serious and absolutely instructive stories in the book “Reise nach Jerusalem”. But now Benito is 12 years old, and he can view and describe some experiences differently. From the international school, which has a festival almost every day, to the various pets that are best trapped with liquor bottles – life in Israel is like the colorful bazaar in Jerusalem. It is worth diving into this swarm of different cultures, religions and peoples.
THIS BOOK IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN GERMAN
8 – 12 Jahre
This workbook is also available in English.
