Nine-year-old Thomas receives encouragement from many sources, including candid talks with Jesus, to help him tolerate the strict family life dictated by his deeply-religious father.
Related: Europe, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Netherlands
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The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer (2006) is a marvelous, joyful, and disrespectful book! I loved it! Thomas, who is nine years old, does not have a safe home environment. His father is abusive, but Thomas believes in happiness. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he replies that he wants to be “happy.” What an amazing concept—and reminder—that we can choose to be happy, and what makes us happy can be a whole variety of people and ideas and activities. Maybe even poetry, music, and a girl with a leather leg. I strongly recommend reading this novel about a young boy, who “reaches home” through his, and others’, collective movement toward happiness. A short, but profound book, Everything, can be read in one sitting. But do not fool yourself into thinking that such a short read will not have a long effect on your thinking and your path toward home and happiness. I assure you, it will!