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.” This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. ( October 2021) The child reading this book will get to learn the difference between when an adult misbehaves and when an adult actually cares. 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.

I honestly have to ask- how did this novel get such a high rating? It was easily one of the worst novels I have ever read.I have really enjoyed reading Good night Mr Tom as it make you want to read on. It is really emotional and joyful at the same time.

My sons had to read this at school. As I love to read i read this while both of them read it. I have watched the movie a few times with them also. 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).Television & Radio Industries Club Award 1999: Best ITV/Channel 5 Programme of 1998 for Goodnight Mister Tom My favourite part of Good night Mr Tom is the part when Willie was writing his name as it made me imagine what they were doing inside my head. 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. 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. 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.

Carnegie Medal Award". 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University ( CCSU). Retrieved 4 August 2012. I would recommend this book to children above the age of 9 as it is a good book but some parts are sad and parts of it could be quite disturbing for younger children. 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.

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Even through the horrors facing people in WWII London we are shown the true love that can happen from makeshift families like that made up of Mr. Tom and Willie. It's a book that changed my life as a child. It made me feel safe to know that even when we're at the worst places in our lives that there are still possibilities. This is such a great story, it’s about the transformative power of kindness and understanding, of patience and friendship. In September 1939, as Britain stands on the brink of the war, many young children from the cities are evacuated to the countryside to escape imminent German bombardment. William Beech, a boy from Deptford who is physically and emotionally abused by his mother, arrives at the village of Little Weirwold. Willie is timid, thin, and covered with bruises and sores. He also believes he is full of sin, thanks to his strict, religious, and mentally unstable mother. He wets the bed every day. 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.