The Mission of Detective Mike: Moving Abroad - a story to help expat children understand the relocation process

Lovely story, well-considered content written in accessible tone for young children.

Such a great book! Got it to help our 3 and 5 year old with our impending international relocation. They loved it! A little wordy, but we broke up the chapters and read it over a few weeks.

Although many people won't remember their first day of school, somewhere in the depths of their minds they know it was terrifying.Now imagine starting the first day of school again? Over and over again: but each time in a different country, and often in places where the local children don't speak your language.Welcome to the life of a young expat...The Mission of Detective Mike: Moving Abroad, helps parents with the difficult job of preparing youngsters for their new adventure, and considers the enormous emotional upheaval by telling a story through the eyes of a character children can relate to: Detective Mike.Eight year old Mike is moving overseas with his family and has all the normal anxieties about leaving his home and friends behind, but after a chat with his Grandfather he decides to get one step ahead and investigate his soon-to-be new city with his friend, sister and a little help from modern technology.Using the Internet, the inquisitive trio begin to discover things about their new home before they move, and even manage to make friends with their new classmates on Skype.It wasn't that long ago that little thought was given to the long-term effects of uprooting children at such crucial stages in their development, but research now proves there is a need to adequately prepare youngsters for what can be an intensely distressing and unsettling experience.Psychologist Simone T. Costa Eriksson and children's author Ana Serra have teamed up to create this delightful self-help book for children and parents and disguised it as a charmingly written story that will strike a chord and give reassurance to any child facing the daunting prospect of a new life abroad.

If the pictures don't hook you right away the information will.This is the type of book that when I read it to the class, they ask "Do you have another one?" I work in a large international school and often leave this book in my waiting room on the coffeetable. Many parents thumb through it and then ask me if I will let them borrow it. I am lucky enough to tell them, "PLease go check it out from our library?" We liked it enough to buy a copy for both divisions in our school. All international schools or global families will want to know about 'this mission'.It is often hard to know what a young child is feeling about a move so having a wonderful resource like this to draw on helps all the players involved (kids, parents, teachers, counselors).Understanding the relocation process is more and more important as we get more and more global families.

That is the story of Mike. He has noticed his parents are whispering all the time. Understanding that something is going on, he decides to investigate. He finds out that his family is going to move abroad.This story is probably your child's one. It is written from his point of view. In less than fifty pages, the authors ask all the questions a young child is going to ask after learning that s/he is going to move abroad. How is the country/the city where we are going to live? What is going to happen to my things? And my friends, will they forget me? How am I going to make me understand in this new country? And our house, can we take it with us? A lot of mysteries that Mike will resolve one after one. It allows him to go past his fears and to deal positively with it.This book target children on the move but also their parents. They will be able to answer their questions and allay their children's fears. They will easily empathize with Mike because it is never specified where he is going to move.[...]

This delightful new children's book relates eight year old Mike's determined quest for information about his upcoming move abroad. His search provides both the answers he seeks and an unexpected benefit: He realizes that he is not helpless in the face of unwanted change. Chapters such as "What About My Things?" and "Who Will Disappear?" highlight Mike's sleuthing expeditions with his best friend, Ikem. The two boys explore the answers to these and other move-related questions. Mike's discoveries about the new life waiting for him will enchant and inform both school-aged children and their parents. The book has universal appeal, but will be particularly poignant for children facing a similar move. Kids will identify with Mike and his struggles to understand what is happening to him. The answers Mike finds are illuminating, comforting and empowering. There is a deliberate ambiguity in both Mike's country of origin and the location of his new home abroad. This ensures that the book retains a sense of immediacy for all expatriate children. This book taps into the authors' extensive personal experiences moving abroad with young families. Costa Eriksson employs her expertise as a psychologist to provide a child's perspective into this transition. The book will prove equally enlightening for parents who are uncertain on how to shepherd their offspring through uncharted territory. The adults in Mike's life are excellent role models for parents and teachers. They give him plenty of information and reassurance, but never reprimand Mike for voicing reluctance or even outright defiance about the move. María Isabel Vaz Guimarães' captivating illustrations provide whimsical support for the storyline. The vivid paintings enhance nearly every page. The book's practical advice and wise words resonate: ". . .your old friends. . . will not disappear. They are just invisible to our eyes, not our hearts." (p.52) Like any good mystery, The Mission of Detective Mike: Moving Abroad ends with a sweet surprise that will delight young readers. One is left wishing for more books about Mike and his new life abroad. Fortunately, the authors invite their young readers to e-mail them with ideas and input. It appears that Mike's adventures may continue. Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, Revised EditionRaising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand WorldUnrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global

'The Mission of Detective Mike - Moving Abroad' tries to help families address important issues of international moves. The drawings and detective character were appealing to my child.The book feels very superficial though. For example it talks about language issues, but not the more subtle communication issues of different culture, games and habits that children anticipate as difficulties in making new friends.I didn't like how the book suggest that girls are typically crying and annoying, and that it's ok for a brother to say as much. For example, when the 5-year old sister expresses distress at the thought of losing belongings precious to her (surely quite acceptable for a young child), the eldest brother and his friend conclude the episode saying "What a tearful mission that was, I'm not sure girls should be allowed to come with us on the next one." Most references can be censored with a thick black pen without losing any of the story's flow or meaning (why they were included is beyond me!).All in all I find the book doesn't bring much added value to us, and I would send the book back if it wasn't that little bit more complicated to do so at a time of moving...

Excellent service. Bought the book for my 6 year old grandson who is moving from Yorkshire to Texas shortly. The book is well written and deals with the issues of a child moving abroad in story form.

just what I was looking for tohelp me in the moving to prepare the children for the new home, great!