Book List:  Dealing with Deployment

Picture Books for Children

Bunting,Eve
My Red Balloon
A young boy waits with both excitement and apprehension for his father to disembark from the aircraft carrier returning to port after many months at sea.

McCormick, Wendy
Daddy, Will You Miss Me?
A boy and his dad come up with lots of different ways to stay close to each other while the dad is in Africa for four weeks.

McElroy, Lisa Tucker
Love Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom
Nine-year-old Lizzie writes to her mother, who is deployed overseas during wartime, and includes maps that show her mother what Lizzie has been thinking and doing. Includes tips for helping children of military families.

McKinley, Robin
My Father Is in the Navy
When Sara's mother tells her that her father is coming home, Sara worries because she has no memory of him. When the ship comes in and he appears, she remembers him.

Pelton, Mindy L.
When Dad's at Sea
Emily finds ways to deal with a six-month separation from her Navy pilot father when he goes to sea for a six-month deployment.

Sederman, Marty and Seymour Epstein
Magic Box: When Parents Can't Be There to Tuck You In
Casey and his father find a special way to share their love when his father is away on business.

Spinelli, Eileen
While You Are Away
In first-person narrations, three children anticipate happy reunions with their parents, who are on active military duty abroad.

Sportelli-Rehak, Angela
Uncle Sam's Kids in When Duty Calls
Shows how parents might address issues relating to deployment such as worry, anger, sadness, and anticipation of homecoming.

Yolen, Jane
All Those Secrets of the World
The author remembers her childhood. When four-year-old Janie's father goes off to war, the rest of the family moves to the grandparents' on Chesapeake Bay, where Janie learns a secret that helps her understand her father's long absence.

Books for Parents

Kay, Ellie
Heroes at Home: Help and Hope for America's Military Families
Ideas on how to cope with frequent moves, pre-deployment readiness, and how to stay in touch when families are separated.

Pavlicin, Karen
Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families
Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to personally grow as individuals and families.

Vandesteeg, Carol
When Duty Calls: A Guide to Equip Active Duty, Guard and Reserve Personnel and Their Loved Ones for Military Separations
Suggestions for making a Family Deployment Guide, conducting long-distance communication, household management and more.