- “Slurping Soup is a must-have resource for parents, teachers and children dealing with transition. This interactive tool will assist elementary-aged children in understanding and coping with the challenges and emotions that go along with international relocations.”
Tina Quick, author of The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition, Founder, International Family Transitions www.internationalfamilytransitions.com
- “Whether you are about to move to another country for the first time or have always lived overseas, Slurping Soup is a valuable resource that effectively addresses the challenges of living in a new culture. The authors have uniquely combined true stories and rich illustrations with practical activities to provide readers of all ages with a much-needed resource to proactively identify and address transition challenges. This outstanding book is a must read for all families living in an international context.”
Barry Dequanne, Head of School, American School of Brasilia
- “Relocating from China to Switzerland, Slurping Soup became THE book to discuss our family transition challenges. The bubble exercise for example was a simple but powerful way to regularly check the family temperature on the “transition” topic. My oldest daughter aged 9 at the time kept asking me to sit with her and go through some of the stories and activities. She found it extremely reassuring to see her challenges had been shared by other children. Thanks for coming up with an activity book made for families and children!”
Jasmine Keel, Senior Learning & Development Consultant, mother of three Third Culture Kids ages 10, 8, 1
- “Slurping Soup” is an invaluable resource for expatriate families. It contains colorful observations and stories that Third Culture Kids will find engaging and meaningful. The activities are imaginative and very effective in helping children express their thoughts and feelings surrounding issues specific to living outside of one’s home country. Activities aimed at increasing tolerance and embracing differences are particularly important with these unique children. It’s kid-friendly illustrations and format are sure to attract and engage children of all ages. I highly recommend it to all expatriate families!
Dr Cheryl Smith
Clinical Psychologist, Lyon, France, and mother of two Third Culture Kids, ages 10 and 12
- “As a parent of a mixed race child, it’s rare to find a book that speaks to my family’s experience the way ‘Slurping Soup’ does. Anyone bringing a child up in today’s multi-cultural world will find this activity book an entertaining, informative and inspirational look at bridging the culture gap that naturally exists between people, places and even generations.”
Michael Wester
Publisher, Beijing Kids Magazine, Beijing
- “Slurping Soup and other confusions” is a delight to own! When I was asked by one of the authors to look at the book before ‘it went off to press’, I gladly accepted 3 hours into a bus ride on the Silk Road where sites out the window no longer held my 3 children’s interest! What ensued from both parents and children was a welcome sigh of relief from the already saturated coloring books brought on the trip! The book’s pages gave way to experiencing much more natural openings to some of the more difficult conversations that can occur from transitions in little lives. All too often parents don’t get the chance to engage or may not understand exactly how to approach finding out what our kids’ are feeling and/or thinking when transitioning to a new country or back to home. Children themselves often don’t know how to communicate these ‘new’ feelings (or what could be older ones that have never been brought to surface). I enjoyed the quality discussions with my children and gaining valuable insight into their worlds. It was nothing short of a miracle on when this book came into my life. I was somewhat negligent in packing the appropriate number of diversions for this 8 day trip but both my 4th grader and Kindergartner dove right in and never looked back. My kindergartner’s favorites were Bubbles, Utensils, Time Zone and Picture Album. Our 4th grader enjoyed Feeling Finder, Maze Choices and Quirky Mad Lib Creation. This book more than delivers with colorful pages and simple explanations of what to do on each page. Some activities are perfect for being ‘on the road’, and others are more favorable to do at home together. The smiles (no tears!) really made it one of the more memorable trips our family has ever taken! Enjoy this book! You won’t be disappointed with Slurping Soup”. – Ginger Vance
Captain and Mrs. George Vance – parents of 12, 9 and 5 year old Beijing, China and Annapolis, Maryland
- “I was impressed with ‘Slurping Soup’ because my twins who are six and can’t read yet were particularly interested in the illustrations. They really related to the hand drawings done by children. They also loved the international stories when I read to them. You don’t find this specialised sort of content in other books. As a parent raising children with different languages and different cultures we need this book!”
Laura Epifania – Italian and mother of six year old twin sons born in Beijing
- “My seven year old daughter was very very impressed by the children’s drawings and she right away started to work on the activities. This was surprising because she normally doesn’t respond this way. I loved the front cover design and the variety of children of different skin colours. The psychological tips for families and the working tools for the children are impressive.”
Friederike –German mother of seven and five year old daughters living in Beijing