Read as a contender for read-aloud 12/13 school year. Tale of child evacuees from London at beginning of WWII. Rare, heart-softening, heart-breaking, eventually heart-thrilling. Magorian did a wonderful job with the whole thing, language, characters, landscape, how she dealt with hard things, how she envisions healing, how she envisions love and friendship, how she envisions how & why people need each other, how she envisions a true community. She really, really got into the minds of the characters especially of Mr. Tom & Willie and made them real people. Because of the subject matter it was a hard book to read. Many tears, some of sadness, some of rage, some of joy. Mr. Tom and Willie (and the others) will live in mind for a long while. HOWEVER, as I have mentioned before while reading some of these books preparing for next year's read-aloud selection, I again highly doubt the appropriateness of the "children's fiction" category this book has been placed in. (FYI, it's in both categories, children's and YA.)Let me try to explain why I feel this way, in case you care. Questions: 1) Is it cathartic for certain formerly abused children/adults to read of horrible instances of child abuse? Is it therapeutic to know (through reading stories like this) that there are great possibilities of healing and hope after? I am honestly asking this question. I ask because if the answer is yes, then books like this perhaps do have a place in children's fiction. I suppose each person paired with their own life experiences has to answer it. 2) Is it appropriate for young, innocent children to read also of horrible instances of child abuse before they are perhaps ready? Before they have been exposed to these types of things, these wretched things, sick humans do to other humans? I think of where this book is shelved in my local library. I think of the happy-looking cover. I think my 10 yo would be likely to pick it up and that she would definitely NOT be ready for the subject matter. I personally think that this book might belong on the higher shelves, say for mature children, ages 13-15+, and also especially for adult readers (where it probably would be in many libraries, but ours are all mixed together...no offense meant local librarian ladies). The book is highly worth reading, but all of us, and maybe particularly children have a hard time forgetting the horror and remembering the light--our brains just seemed hardwired to recall scary/nasty things. This book is truly abounding in light and love, but it has its share of pretty serious horror. I know I will always pair (with a shudder) the way Willie was found by Mr. Tom with any good feelings I might have about the book. I have to make this clear, it was traumatic for me and I've been around a while. I know that in this world we are purposely here to experience some of the dark so we may know the fullness of the light, but I'm not sure very young children...the ones who are fortunate enough to live in innocence longer than some...are ready for such darkness.So, final thought. YOU as an adult, if you feel up to the subject matter of abuse, death, war, paired with liberal doses of redemption, friendship, and love go for it, you probably won't regret it. But I would definitely read it before you hand it to a child.
"Takes yer time, everythin' 'as its own time." So I have this theory that whenever I read a book where there is a gruff old man who is prickly on the outside but a big softie in the middle, I will love it.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. 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.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. 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. And let’s not forget Sam who is the most endearing fictional dog since Manchee. 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. 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.Yes.That’s right. An epilogue that made me feel warm and fuzzy.This is book is truly special to me. Also, I just want to say something about the film adaptation.Gasp.I know, I know.This is a book site! Only heathens talk about film on this site.But whatever, I don’t care.Normally I hate watching adaptations of my favourite books because they never ever EVER measure up. And I think this is the only exception.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.).Oh and whoever cast John Thaw as Mr Tom is a champion. And ALSO, why haven’t I gone and seen this play yet?! One day. :)This review is part of my Poppies & Prose feature. You can find out more here.
Do You like book Good Night, Mr. Tom (1986)?
I remember reading this book whilst I was at primary school and again at secondary school when I developed a keen interest in history. Magorian tells the story of Will Beech, an evacuee who is placed in the hands of Mr Tom Oakley at the start of WWII. However after spending a few months in the countryside, he is summoned back home to his mother where he is subjected to abuse, until he is rescued by Mr Tom. At first, you sense uncertainty as to what will become of Will and Tom but then as the story unravels it shows the development in both their characters and just how wonderful and how strong their relationship becomes.The storyline is quite saddening but yet so touching and powerful at capturing emotion in the reader. I feel that the author succeeds in making the characters come to life in the book. Her writing is descriptive and full of emotion, it really got my imagination going when picturing what some of the characters might look like together with their personalities.I have also watched the tv adaptation to the book and I think it would be a great resource to use with possibly Y6 to compare and discuss the similarities and differences.This book would be an excellent resource for history with cross curricular link in literacy (writing a diary/letter as an evacuee), drama (re-enacting/creating alternative scenes from the book), d&t (use of materials/constructing air raid shelters in the 21st century ) and pshe (discussing children in conflict).
—Sara Darr
Though this may be harsh, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian is one of the worst books I have ever read. The plot, intellectually unappealing and the characters had uninteresting personalities. I felt as though the characters never left the page once I closed the book. I enjoy books that once I finish them, the characters stay with me as though I had gotten to know them personally. With this book, it was not the case. By the end of this novel I was deeply dissatisfied. I was disappointed after hearing meticulous wonderful reviews which must have been for another book. The main characters Mister Tom and Willie did not seem to have any chemistry at all in the book. The only relationship that I found remotely interesting was that of Willie and Zach. Zach was the comedic relief for the novel who certainly did his job. To conclude, though this book may be loved around the world I am not one who agrees with this opinion. I will not be reading this novel again and will certainly not be recommending it to my peers.
—Sienna Austin
We had to read this in primary school, and it's been one of my most-read, well-loved books ever since. It doesn't seem enough to say, "Oh, it's a really touching story," because it's so much more than that. Willie is a young boy who's been abused by his mother all his life, so when he's evacuated to the countryside he's a quivering nervous wreck. He expects to be beaten for everything he gets wrong. The widower he stays with, Tom Oakley, is gruff and blunt and has shunned company ever since his wife died in childbirth forty years ago. While they first seem utterly unsuited to each other, each turns out to be exactly right for the other.This is a story about how two people can change. It never fails to make me laugh, and cry, and feel lighter after I put it down.I disagree with other reviewers who've said it's not for children (e.g. the abuse scenes are too shocking). Since we read it in primary school our teacher obviously didn't have a problem with it. (There were no complaints from parents either.) That said, it's accessible to all ages. It's one of those books that grows up with you, that you come back to again and again even when you're an adult. The writing is so evocative of a wartime country village, and the characters all feel real and fully developed. It's a wonderful tale of friendship and growth that everyone can enjoy.
—Josie
