Also by this author: Dream Big
Published by Thomas Nelson on February 16, 2021
Genres: Non-Fiction, Children's, Christian Life
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
If you loved Bob Goff's New York Times bestselling book Everybody, Always, you'll enjoy sharing the same beautiful message of loving without inhibition, insecurity, or restriction with your family in the children's edition. Everybody, Always for Kids will get your children excited about being themselves, caring for others, and making a difference in the world.
Bob Goff's magnetic spirit and hilarious wit, alongside his daughter Lindsey Goff Viducich's love and understanding of children, shine through each story in Everybody, Always for Kids. Bob and Lindsey share:
40 inspiring stories paired with fun artwork perfect for readers, ages 6-10Childlike wonder they've experienced in their regular day to day lives—using a walkie-talkie to talk to a neighbor, swapping places with a limo driver, pretending to be a wax figure, and carrying a bucket around everywhereHow embracing others is the key to living a happier lifeAs the extraordinary success of Love Does, Love Does for Kids, and Everybody, Always shows, Goff's trademark storytelling about unconditional love resonates with every generation as we seek to bring light, laughter, and abundant grace to today's world.
A few years ago, I led my high school youth group through the Everybody Always video series. We watched the first week’s video and I asked if anyone had questions. A hand shot up immediately: “Is he…um…always like that?” And the answer is yes. Bob Goff is the most enthusiastic, genuine person that I know. It’s not an act. It’s not a show. It’s simply who he is.
Everybody Always is about learning to love others, regardless of who they are—something the world desperately needs in this season of division and polarization. Goff draws on his exceptional life to tell stories about opportunities to love others and make a difference. Each personal anecdote is used as a launching point toward a general understanding of the concept and an imagining of what it might look like in the reader’s context.
Speaking with adults, the one criticism I get about Bob is that he’s too…well, the kids would say extra, adults just sort of gesticulate wildly. And yeah, I get it. Adulthood, for most, carries with it a certain sense of properness and decorum, an aloofness and individuality that doesn’t want to get involved in the lives of others. To them, Bob Goff is scary. To them, Bob’s way of living is just way too vulnerable. The best I might get is that people admire him for what he does, but ask them to change themselves and there might be some small, incremental changes (I’ll take it) but rarely will they upend their established personality.
Everybody Always for Kids shifts the focus from an adult reader to an elementary to middle school one. The vocabulary is a little more simplified. The anecdotes are a bit shorter. There are wonderful illustrations. There are a few additional stories. But that same sense of wonder and whimsy is pervasive. And to a less cynical, less “adult” audience, it really hits home. Bob’s sense of wonder is childlike and for kids to see an adult who has kept that, hopefully, encourages them be the same.
Interestingly, Bob’s practical advice for how to love others doesn’t differ that much from the book geared to adults—showing just how easy it is to implement his message. Your child will laugh, ask questions, be amazed, feel encouraged, and, most of all, feel capable of being the hands and feet of Jesus. They don’t have to wait to be older or have a job or money, they can love everybody always right where they are. Bob’s an amazing person and I’m glad to see his books translated into a format meant for younger readers.
