This collection of writings from Asian MKs who have lived all around the world gives insight into the experiences of MKs of all ages. The book is split into three sections: Children, Adolescents and Adults with journal entries from different MKs on a variety of subjects from school to goodbyes to rootedness. Most of the writers have a connection to Hong Kong (where the editor is based) and have at least one Chinese parent but their experiences are varied. Many issues unique to Asian MKs are addressed, like differences in education systems, maintaining Chinese roots, and cultural differences within the family.
This book would be great for Asian TCKs processing their own experiences, Asian missionary parents and those working with Asian MKs. Understanding a TCK perspective other than the Western one is beneficial to all TCK workers, as well.
This sweet story is told from a grandmother’s perspective as she reflects on how her daily life in the United States compares to her grandson’s in Africa. While she skates on a frozen lake, her grandson is playing in the sand by a tropical pool. She sleeps under a quilt and he sleeps under a gauzy mosquito net. They both love dogs and her dogs miss him. But she knows that each night they both look at the same moon.
This would be a sweet book for children overseas who miss their grandparents and extended family. Reading it could be a great conversation starter for talking about memories of times spend with their own grandparents and thinking of ways their own lives are different or similar from their far away relatives.
Reading level: age 4 to 8 years
Gregory’s dad comes home from work one day and announces that they’re all moving to Japan! Even before leaving their home, the family begins to learn Japanese and how to eat with chopsticks. Everything is different for Gregory in his new home and new school but he tries his best to learn all about the way things are done in Japan. Even without speaking the same language as his classmates, he finds ways to make friends and tries to fit in and is surprised to find out in the end that his classmates are adapting to him too.
Reading level: age 4 to 8 years
This is the first in a series about two Canadian sisters who love to travel the world. The girls travel to Paris and to everything on their list from visiting a bakery to the Louvre to walking on cobblestone streets (which they were doing the whole time without realizing). This is a fun series for kids who like to learn about the world.
Reading level: age 3-10 years
A little boy named Juno is excited to open a letter from his grandmother who lives in Korea but he can’t read it. Juno understands what his grandmother means, though because of the photo and the pressed flowers that his grandmother sent. So he decides to send his own letter back to his grandma with his own pictures and leaves.
This sweet story shows the difficulty of being far from extended family when you’re living in another country and the sweet illustrations are touching.
Reading level: age 3-7 years
Not to be confused with the 2001 movie of the same name, this film is set in the 1950s, loosely a story of a French diplomatic family in colonial Africa. France Dalens returns to Cameroon as a young adult, and finds herself recalling her childhood living there at a remote outpost. With her parents emotionally distant and preoccupied, her closest friend is the regally handsome houseboy, Protee. As an assortment of Europeans pass through the station staying for extended periods, tension builds in the home. When the advances of France’s lonely mother are rebuffed by Protee, France’s friendship with him is altered as well. This movie is somewhat incohesive and the parts about France as an adult seemed to lack depth or significance (this may reflect a difference in style between American and French filmmaking). Nevertheless, most TCKs would enjoy this portrait of a foreign childhood.
Rated: PG-13
