Moving Must-Reads

When you’re planning to pack up and relocate to a new home, the last thing you need to do is sit down with a book. Wrong! Often, it’s the first part of securing a smooth move, especially if you must explain the change of address to children.

Susan Miller’s “But Mom, I Don’t Want To Move!” helps parents prepare their offspring for the transition as does “Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family’s Transition to a New Home” by Lori Collins Burgan.

Young children will better comprehend their relocation situation with “Big Ernie’s New Home: A Story for Young Children Who Are Moving” by Teresa and Whitney Martin; “Moving House” by Anne Civardi with illustrations by Stephen Cartwright; “The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day” by Stan and Jan Berenstain; and “Boomer’s Big Day” by Constance W. McGeorge with illustrations by Mary Whyte.

For kids in preschool through third grade, pick up “Alexander, Who’s Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move” by Judith Viorst with illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser;“I Like Where I Am” by Jessica Harper with illustrations by G. Brian Karas; “Mr. Rogers Moving” by Fred Rogers; and “Tooter Pepperday”by Jerry Spinelli.

Children in third through sixth grade will appreciate the award-winning “My Very Exciting, Sorta Scary, Big Move: A workbook for children moving to a new home” by Lori Attanasio Woodring Ph.D. as well as “Moving Day” by Ralph Fletcher with illustrations by Jennifer Emery, while tweens will relate to “The Year My Parents Ruined My Life” by Martha Freeman.

Once the kids are grown, it’s time to purchase Cindy Babyn’s “Moving Out! A Young Adult’s Guide to Living on Your Own” which offers both practical and philosophical tips on relocating.

Adults also can benefit from Susan Miller’s “After the Boxes are Unpacked (Renewing the Heart)” and “The Empty Nest: When Children Leave Home” by Shelley Bovey.