Which books bring a tear to your eye?

Goodnight Mister Tom

Written by: Michelle Magorian

Published by: Puffin Books @PuffinBooks

Published on: first published 1981 by Kestrel Books, first published by Puffin in 1983, this edition 2011

Price: £7.99

First line: “Yes,” said Tom bluntly, on opening the front door.

Genre: Historical, Family, Coming of age

Thanks to my school’s library for a review copy.

What’s it all about? Young, fearful William Beech is evacuated at the start of World War 2 from London to the countryside and dropped at the doorstep of ‘Mister Tom’, because his mum wants him to live with church faring folk or as near to a church as possible. Gruff, old Mr Tom’s life changes forever with the arrival of the troubled young boy. Both of them need each other to discover who they really are, and their lives, and the lives of all who surround them in the village, are made better through their discovery. A story of fear, friendship and love, this coming of a age drama set to the backdrop of the Blitz and World War 2 is deservedly a children’s classic.

Why should I read it? If you are learning or teaching children about World War 2, this is a great way of getting some direct understanding of how it affected a wide range of different people in England at that time. The hopes and fears of ordinary people are described in detail and readers will learn how to begin with very little effect was actually felt in the countryside apart from ‘putting up the blacks’ and evacuees arriving. It is now, quite old fashioned in style, with descriptions of jam sandwiches, girls not being allowed to go to High School and country walks, but still as relevant today as it was when it was first published. The journey of change that both Will and Tom travel through is amazing, and having not read it for many, many years, I forgot how painful and upsetting it is to read. The characterisation is definitely the highlight of the read.