Goodnight Mister Tom

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Ah, Mister Tom, if only that were so easy for you to convince yourself with just words, because the moment eight-year-old evacuee, Willie, comes to stay at his home in Little Weirwold, Goodnight Mister Tom beautifully shows just how difficult it is for us to follow through on our own constituents. 🌸When you welcome someone into your home, you also welcome them into your heart. And Michelle Magorian’s first novel poignantly shows exactly that - a heart-warming and emotional read that gently reminds us how kindness and love can bring happiness and joy to those hearts that have never had the chance to receive it. 🫶🏻🫶🏻 Joining the ranks of John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars comes Michelle Magorian’s Goodnight Mister Tom, a touching tale of wartime woes. As he observed it tumble and fall between the wood and hot coke, it occurred to him that strength was quite different from toughness and that being vulnerable wasn’t the same as being weak.” In September 1939, the United Kingdom declares war on Nazi Germany, and children are evacuated from London to the countryside for their safety. Tom Oakley, a lonely and bitter old man living in the countryside village of Little Weirwold, is forced to look after one of the evacuees, William "Willie" Beech. Tom has become reclusive after losing his wife and child to scarlet fever many years before, while Willie is a quiet young boy who comes from an abusive home and is apprehensive of Tom. I just can’t imagine what it must have been like for all those children who were sent away at the beginning of WWII, to live with total strangers.

Ms Magorian’s writing feels so comfortable to me; it’s simple and gentle but never ventures into twee-ness (twee-dom?)… fine, it never becomes twee. It was for their own safety, of course, London was too dangerous, one of the prime targets for Hitlers bombing campaign, so the relative safety of country villages was thought to be the answer.

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Goodnight Mister Tom is a children's novel by English author Michelle Magorian, published by Kestrel in 1981. Harper & Row published an American edition the same year. [1] Set during World War II, it features a boy abused at home in London who is evacuated to the country at the outbreak of the war. In the care of Mister Tom, an elderly recluse, he experiences a new life of loving and care. The last weekend of August, the children decide to pay a visit to Spooky Cott, an abandoned cottage rumored to be haunted. There, Will and Zach end up meeting a young man named Geoffrey. Geoffrey has left London after having his left leg amputated and losing one of his ears. He has also lost his fiancee, family, and best friend. Traumatized, he has holed himself up in the old cottage to get away from the world. Geoffrey is an artist and offers to give Will art lessons. His sadness is also lifted when he learns there is a prospect of teaching at the local school. Is that not a beautiful sentiment - the true value of being loved and recognized. That, you can feel the comfort of knowing someone is there, but when you don't have the opportunity to see that person, you feel their absence even more. This little town welcomed him with open arms so much - that they got so much joy in seeing him grow - that they saw how this little boy changed an old man, who had been grieving for his wife and child for forty years. He was not only Mr.Tom's - he had become a lovable part of their community. 🥹🥹

It’s the apparently ‘heartwarming’ story of Willie Beech, who is sent from London to the countryside during the second world war. He goes from living with an overly religious, abusive mother to the gruff but kind Tom, and develops, or something. It doesn’t really matter. You will love Tom. He’s the perfect adult character of all time for me! I just wish every adult to be this giving, caring and nurturing towards every child.

I think I’ve seen this film at least ten times (five of those viewings were on successive video days on the afternoon of every end of term, The Railway Children in the morning, of course.). Goodnight Mister Tom is a deeply moving story that follows Willie Beech as he gets evacuated from London to the countryside during World War II. The novel is suitable for Year 5 and above. It explores topics and themes such as World War II evacuation, friendship, abuse and growth. William remains bedridden and traumatised by his ordeal. He blames himself for the death of his sister, as he was not able to give her enough milk. Zach visits him daily. William grows stronger and visits his favourite teacher, Annie Hartridge. From Annie and Zach, William learns that he could not have fed a baby on his own and that a woman cannot conceive a child on her own. He realises his mother had sex with a man, though she told him that it was a sin for unmarried men and women to consort. He no longer blames himself for his sister's death. My heart is still breaking thinking about the neglect, abuse and abandonment. Triggering at parts and most disturbing I would say, the book is actually perfect. Willie becomes friends with some of the village children and evacuees – mostly notably Zach. Zach is extravagant, confident and has a love of life. Willie is surprised that Zach likes him as he’s never been liked by anyone before and was bullied in his previous school. Zach and Willie spend lots of time together and become best friends.

Willie finds the authorities at his house to inform him that his mother has committed suicide. They want to find him foster parents, but Willie wants to stay. After some debate, they agree to let Tom adopt Willie. Both of them are overjoyed with the outcome. In the tense period just before Britain enters what will be WWII, Will, a young boy from London, is sent as an evacuee to the country where he is going to live with Mr Tom, an uncommunicative and what seem to be (on the surface) a grumpy old man. Their encounter will change them both. It will, above all, radically change Will's life.

Tom Oakley, or "Mister Tom" as William calls him, is a reclusive and ill-tempered widower in his sixties. He is avoided by the community and vice versa. William's mother wanted William to live with someone who was either religious or lived near a church, and Tom takes in Willie. Though initially distant, Tom is moved after discovering William's home life and treats him with kindness. William grows attached to Tom and his dog, Sammy. Willie Beach finds himself living with Tom, a man in his sixties, a widower who has lived alone for a long time, but who fits the bill for the kind of person Willie’s mother has requested her son be put with. Michelle Magorian's award winning historical novel is a wonderful re-read for me, I read it so long ago and it was a joy to re-acquaint myself with it. Some of you may be familiar with the story through the fabulous movie starring John Thaw. At the beginning of WW2, young Willie Beech is evacuated from London to a small rural village to stay with the withdrawn, grumpy loner that is Tom Oakley. When Willie first arrives he is a frightened and traumatised child, and no wonder, he has been abused, neglected and bullied, but as he begins to settle into the community and eat proper meals, he starts to blossom, even overcoming his fear of Sammy, the dog. Tom and Willie are so good for each other, but Willie's happiness is endangered with his terrifying return to his nightmare of a cruel, 'religious' mother. When Tom doesn't hear from Willie, he decides to go to London.

William attends school and makes friends, including George, twins Carrie and Ginnie, and especially fellow evacuee Zach. William learns to read and write with the help of Tom and others, and shows talent in drawing, painting, and dramatics. As William is changed by Tom, so is Tom transformed by William. It is revealed that Tom lost his wife and baby son to scarlatina forty years ago. This book is one of my all-time favourites and I know I say that about every book, but I definitely mean it this time. As Mr. Tom begins to observe Willie, whom Mr. Tom calls William, he begins to realize that this is not an average child. He seems fearful and withdrawn, without any joy or trust in people, which softens his heart and the love and kindness he extends to Willie end up changing both of their outlooks on the world. Some found themselves being expected to sing for their supper by helping on the farms they were sent too. Here's a great picture of what it must have been like living during those uncertain time, a picture also of the innocence of childhood ripped apart by a war yet to come. Heartfelt, here's a deep and disturbing read too, as it doesn't shy away from such a tough topic as child abuse (and in graphic detail at that).

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When I read a book like this one, I try to imagine what my eight or ten year-old self would have thought of it. I’m pretty sure she would have loved this and read it more than once. It is beautifully written, very sweet and uplifting, and inspires kindness and a view of the world as a place that will rescue you. Willie proceeds to have horrible nightmares and regularly wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Tom’s there to comfort him and after a few weeks, Willie’s calmer and is able to see his friends. Tom, Willie and Zach go on holiday to a nearby seaside town and spend two weeks enjoying the sun and sea. Magorian and Mister Tom won the annual once-or-lifetime Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, judged by a panel of British children's writers. [2] She was also a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognising the year's best English-language children's book published in the UK. [3] [a] The friends were pointless, apart from Carrie, who was just stupid. There was literally no reason for the friends to exist, other than filler. Carrie was a local girl who wanted an education. She, and the novel, were so ridiculous I found myself wishing they’d just ban women from school so she could shut up for a bit. I’m a feminist, and the book made me wish women couldn’t go to school. Yeah. She was literally that annoying. By November, most evacuees have returned to London, which poses a problem for the play director, Miss Thorne, as she has to keep re-casting roles for the Christmas show, " A Christmas Carol." Willie takes over as prompter after finishing the scenery and after a week he knows most of the play by heart. When he is asked to fill in for someone, he turns out to be an incredibly talented actor, even impressing Zach. Miss Thorne needs a new actor to take on the role of Scrooge and gives the part to Willie. Tom also steps up to fill in for Mr. Bush, who is called to war, to play the organ for the men's choir. He has not played in a very long time as it reminds him of his wife. Thus, both Willie and Tom are faced with a new opportunity to come more into the spotlight.