Children’s Books on Military Life

Last week we wrote about children’s books on deployment. As part of April’s Month of the Military Child we are exploring different resources that help our children build resiliency and understanding of the stresses and joys of military life. Last week the books we listed addressed the stresses of military life. This week we want to share some of our favorite books that celebrate the joys of military life. We have a small list of books that talk about the role of the military parent and the joyful moments of reunions and homecomings.

The Fathers are Coming Home

From the moment I saw this book I knew we had to have it. The cover illustration alone brought happiness to my heart. The cover art shows sailor Dad raising his little boy in the air in celebration from his return from sea. The book uses beautiful and unique illustrations to show different examples of times in nature where father’s leave and come home to their children

Coming Home

The illustrations in this book are realistic and beautifully rendered. If you have ever experienced the homecoming of a loved one you will not be able to read this book without palpably feeling the anticipation of reunion. A boy waits and searches impatiently for his parent in a sea of uniforms and reuniting families. This book captures every ounce of what homecomings are to us as a family. If I were to pick one children’s book about homecomings that conveys what the experience is like, this is it.

H is for Honor

We received this book as a gift when we were expecting our first-born. It was our very first children’s book that touched on our military life. It is by far our most special. The book goes through the alphabet of meaningful American military terms. It includes every branch and every facet of military life that we all have in common. I love reading this book to our little one because we have family members and friends in different branches and different jobs, and this book beautifully ties everything about our shared military-family-life experience and presents it in a way children can understand. If I had to choose one book for a military child this would be it. It is a handbook and an introduction to all the facets of military life. This is a great book to start your collection.

Hero Dad/ Hero Mom

A teacher at a DOD school in Germany wrote this book. The teacher recognized the unique struggles and pride military children experience. The wording of these books (we love that there is a Mom version and a Dad version) is for a soldier parent, but any family member of any branch will relate to the feelings of pride you feel for the parent-in-uniform. They really are superheroes in the kid’s eyes and this book recognizes and celebrates this.

My Sailor Dad

I have never seen more beautiful illustrations in any book. Each painted image of Navy life is a work of art. The books writes about many areas of work sailors perform and present a complete picture of the working Navy that a child can understand. This book is great for children with a parent in any branch serving on a ship deployment.

My Daddy is a Marine/ My Mommy is a Marine

This is a customizable book. Every page has a description of things Marines do at work, and there is a space for you to add your own standard size photo of the Marine Mom or Dad to make this a very personalized experience for the reader. You can sometimes find these books at the exchange or on Amazon.

These are some of our favorites. If you have favorites we did not list please share them with us in the comments, email, on Facebook or Instagram.

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