title: The Book of Everything
author: guus-kuijer
description: Grade 4-6In spite of his hard life, Thomas believes in happiness. He adores Eliza, who has an artificial leg. He sees Jesus and talks to him. He sees tropical fish in the canal. In between his father's beatings, he records all he believes, thinks, adores, and sees in his <i>Book of Everything</i>. His Bible-quoting father justifies his brutality toward his son and wife as, It is the man's task to lead and instruct his wife and children. And if they refuse to listen to him, he has no choice but to. Things come to a head when his older sister threatens their bullying father with a carving knife, their mother stands up to him, and neighbors turn against him. In the end, he sees that his lonely father is terrified of life. He is encouraged by an unlikely ally, Mrs. van Amersfoort, who lost her husband to the Nazis, but still believes in happiness. Winner of the Flemish Golden Owl award, this book is enchanting. The translation manages to hold the shaky feel of a postwar Netherlands. Thomas is proof that there is beauty in dirty streets and that innocence cannot be destroyed. A solid, if not first, purchase.<i>Sadie Mattox, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text:  
   
   
   
   
   
  A FIRST FOR
  Everything
   
   
   
   
   
   
  By: Andria Large
   
  
   
  This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
  fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
  A First For Everything
  Copyright © 2019 by Andria Large.
  All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  This book or any portion
  thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever, via the Internet, electronic, or print, without the
  express written permission of the authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
  For more information, or information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the author: http://www.AuthorAndriaLarge.com
   
  Edited by: Stacy Flanary
  Cover Design by: Andria Large
   
  First Edition, 2019
   
   
  Please note: Andria Large acknowledges the copyrighted item