13 Helpful Books for Moving Abroad with Children
Moving overseas can be exciting and wonderful as well as confusing and frustrating. As an adult, you have life experiences that have taught you how to cope with many of the difficulties, but your children may need extra support. We have compiled a list if books that are recommended to help ease the transition to a different culture, guiding your family through everything from saying good-by to friends and family to understanding how culture shock affects us and finally to repatriation. These books should help you not only survive your life as an expat but thoroughly enjoy this exciting time.
A globe is even better, but less convenient. Learning where your home country is in relation to your host country is important—and that’s just the starting point. A world atlas is essential for anyone’s bookshelf, but it is especially pertinent on an expat’s.
2. Third Culture Kids, David C Pollock
How does growing up abroad affect children’s development? How does repatriation affect children’s development? This is a useful book for parents of cross-cultural children, as well as children of bi-racial and bi-cultural parents.
3. Raising Global Nomads, Robin Pascoe
Raising children while living overseas, including insights and tips for dealing with issues unique to the expat experience. Includes a section on repatriation. Gives the parents strength to maintain a sense of normalcy and order when the family is living at the edge of their comfort zone.
4. Families on the Move, Marion Knell
Contains advice for coping with the transitions into a new culture, including new schools and cultural differences; written from a European perspective rather than American. A great help for parents to understand what their whole family is dealing with in an overseas move.
5. Live and Work Abroad: A Guide for Modern Nomads, Huw Francis and Michelyne Callan
Written by long-term expats, the book also quotes the experiences and advice of individuals and families who have relocated from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. A useful guide for all aspects of the expat life from deciding whether or not to become an expat to repatriation and the many aspects in between, including suggestions regarding family relationships, childcare and education.
6. Global Baby, Anne Copeland
A wonderfully practical guide for moving overseas with babies; includes an interesting section on bi-lingual babies.
7. Club Expat, Aniket Shah and Akash Shaw
This book was written for teenagers to help them understand what other teens have gone through and how they can get the most out of their expat experience.
8. Allie Finkles Rules for Girls: Moving Day, Meg Cabot
One of a series of books, Moving Day follows Allie’s experiences moving to a creepy old house in town. A great book for adolescent and young teen girls who want to read about the funny side of moving home.
9. When Abroad, Do as Local Children Do, Hilly van Swol-Ulbrich and BettinaKaltenhauser
Contains activities and assignments to build the confidence of expatriate children and encourage them to explore their new environment. Parents can read and participate in the activities along with their children; useful for the entire process of the international assignment cycle from saying goodbye to friends at the beginning of the move to repatriation. Includes a list of resources, accompanied by a website for further activities. Suitable for children 8-12 years.
10. Moving House, Anna Ciavardi, Michelle Bates and Stephen Cartwright
Engaging illustrations and simple story tell toddlers and young children about moving house.
11. Berenstain Bears Moving Day, Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
The Bear family decides it is time to move to a larger house. Suitable for ages 4-8.
12. ECIS International Schools Directory 2009/10, Derek Bingham
The European Council of International Schools guide to 580+ schools and 430+ higher education colleges in more than 113 countries, serving 335,000 young people worldwide.
13. CIS International Schools Directory 2009/10, Derek Bingham
The Council of International Schools is an association of schools and post secondary institutions. This directory has extensive information on all 540 member schools, andincludes a directory with details of 451 Higher Education members.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!
Good list.
I would also suggest “Peanutbutter Friends in a Chop-Suey World” by Deb Brammer.