Goodnight Mister Tom

Product Information

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.). The child reading this book will get to learn the difference between when an adult misbehaves and when an adult actually cares. Since her death he had never wanted to touch anything that might remind him of her. Trust a strange boy to soften him up. The odd thing was that, after he had entered the paint shop, he had felt as if a heavy wave of sadness had suddenly been lifted from out of him.” 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. 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.

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 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.” It’s about how a man who once lost so much is at last given the chance to show what a truly good man he is, what a wonderful Father he could have been if fate hadn’t robbed him of that opportunity so many years before. 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 He seems fearful and withdrawn, without any joy or trust in people, which softens his heart and the love and kindness he extends to Willie end up changing both of their outlooks on the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.

Want to save more time

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. 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. 🥹🥹 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. 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. 🫶🏻🫶🏻 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.

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. This is such a great story, it’s about the transformative power of kindness and understanding, of patience and friendship.

Keep up to date with your professional development

Now he’d be for it. Don’t ask help from anyone, his mum had said. He waited for the cuff around the ear.” The novel has been adapted as a stage musical and as the film Goodnight Mister Tom (1998). In 2003, it was listed at #49 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. [4] The most recent theatrical adaptation, Goodnight Mister Tom, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. [5] Plot [ edit ] 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.