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. To become the boy that Willie could be, he learns to shed the pains of his childhood. And that uncertainty and hesitancy of never being on the receiving hand of a comforting touch or to see his own capability. The little group of friends he makes that bring him out of his own sheltered mold - that allow him to see him for what he can be - if just given the opportunity. 😔 He's a small boy with such a big heart - so very full of artistic talents and want to be something more, but too afraid to voice his own wants. And my heart reached out to him - wanted to hold him gently and reassure him that things will be better for him - if he would just not lose faith. 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.

The twins Carrie and Ginnie are almost impossible to tell apart but are actually quite different in personality. Like George, Carrie is very interested in plants and animals, whereas Ginnie prefers more traditionally feminine pursuits, such as homemaking and sewing. They tend to confide everything in each other so when Carrie decides to ask if she can take the examination for the local high school and confides her plan in Zach, Ginnie's feelings are very hurt. Carrie is extremely intelligent and loves studying, and is also ambitious and determined to not fit into the usual mould when it comes to opportunities for women. Despite support from her father, Carrie's attendance at the high school is not something her mother truly believes in and consequently Carrie often has to study outside of the home where her mother cannot find her to avoid being told to stop reading and do chores instead. Carrie has a particularly close relation with Zach, and so his passing deeply affects her. In the last chapter, we see a budding relationship between Carrie and Will. Annie Hartridge Some found themselves being expected to sing for their supper by helping on the farms they were sent too. The setting is perfectly constructed, the friendships that are developed are honest and true and there is always this rich sense of innocent fun running through the story, which is perfectly balanced with the more harrowing points of the tale. But I’m not talking about them because it just makes me too sad. Willie finally reaches the standard of reading and writing required to join his friends in Miss Hartridge's class. There, rather than struggling, he actually performs very well, much to everyone's surprise. Carrie, a top student in the class, requests to take the exam so she can attend high school. 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. 🫶🏻🫶🏻

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I first read it when I was about ten and I was in Year 5, learning about WW2 and the Blitz and evacuees. Seeing as I had read all the books we had to read and I was allowed to go into the library and choose my own book. And this one was the first book I chose. Speaking of additional features in this 40th anniversary edition, the new introduction from the author was lovely. Not only did it explain the concept of sewing children into their clothes (something that confused me in the story) but it also explained the origin of the story which is something that’s always interesting to read about. 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.

Willie Beech is a scrawny eight-year-old boy from London. For his whole life, he has been physically and emotionally abused by his religious mother, leading him to be extremely timid and fearful. He is evacuated to a small village called Little Weirwold and is placed to live with a man named Tom Oakley, a gruff but kind widower in his 60s. Tom has lost his wife and baby son over 40 years ago and has consequently become somewhat of a hermit, not participating in the usual town social activities. It is 1939, and England is poised on the edge of war with Nazi Germany. It is believed that the main target of invasion from the sea will be the south coast, and the biggest threat of mass bombing raids from the sky will be in London. For this reason, children from the inner city are evacuated to the north of England where it is believed the threat from the Germans will be much more slight. This is such a great story, it’s about the transformative power of kindness and understanding, of patience and friendship.

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His happiness comes to an end when he is summoned to return to his mother in London and a life of abuse and cruelty. Willie's mother pours anger on him for his new found happiness and hatred for his being friends with Zach because Zach is Jewish. she has hidden a baby she has secretly given birth to. Willie gradually recovers from his injuries and reunites with Zach and the others. While speaking with Zach, Willie learns about the concept of sex, something his mother raised him to believe was "something dirty" and unacceptable, and realises that his mother herself had been having a relationship with another man, which resulted in the birth of Trudy. Eventually, Stelton and some social workers come to Tom's house with the news that Willie's mother has died by suicide. They intend to take Willie to the children's home, but Willie and Tom protest. Tom explains a bad dream that Willie has repeatedly been having regarding this exact event, and argues that he needs to be with someone who loves him. 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. 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. 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.

It soon becomes apparent to Tom that Willie hasn’t had a happy childhood, that in fact, he’s been subjected to cruelty and deprivation, and so Tom sets out to improve the boy’s life. Normally I hate watching adaptations of my favourite books because they never ever EVER measure up. Willie Beech is an abused nine-year-old boy. "Mr. Tom" Oakley is a sixty-year-old man who was widowed 40 years ago and became the town recluse/curmudgeon. The two are thrown together when Willie arrives at Mr. Tom's cottage as one of the WWII evacuee children from London. They both blossom as they learn to love and encourage each other. Mr. Tom comes out of his self-imposed "hermithood" to participate in the community again, and Willie discovers his own talents while becoming healthy and robust. 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. Mister Tom was also a great character. Although he was viewed by others as grumpy and secluded, from the outset I found that he was kind to Willie in an unconventional way. Even before he realised that Willie was sensitive and traumatised, Mister Tom was never mean, it was simply part of his nature to be blunt. In fact, he had quite a few hilariously blunt quips throughout the book and I loved his unexpected sassy remarks. It was amazing to see how much he grew throughout the book too. And the insight this 40th anniversary special gave us into his relationship with his wife through the inclusion of the short story was sweet and very tragic.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.). As I mentioned, I read this book when I was ten and now twelve years later this book was still beautiful. It has aged extremely well. We see that Tom is a man of integrity, who has a strong grip of what is right and wrong. If something is right, he will do it, regardless of whether or not it is easy. Tom breaks the rules of the hospital by kidnapping Willie because his moral sense, personified through his wife, tells him to do so. His fiercely loving nature gives him the courage to make these difficult choices and take risks to defy what he perceives to be unfair. William Beech I still laughed (seriously, Zach and I need to be best friends) and I still got teary at certain parts and I still got a warm feeling in my tummy at that epilogue. 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.