Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle MagorianMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Aimed at the younger reader, this Puffin edition of Goodnight Mister Tom was reissued in 2014 with this wonderful cover artwork by David Frankland. Michelle Magorian's uplifting story of an evacuee, William Beech, and the reclusive Tom Oakley, who provided a home for Will at the outbreak of the 2nd World War. Many readers, I am sure, will have seen the excellent TV adaptation starring the lovable John Thaw. It made me want to read the book. And it is a rich experience, no matter your age.
Goodnight Mr Tom in many respects is educational. World War Two began in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. When Neville Chamberlain declared war with Germany, over four days 1.9 million people were evacuated from areas thought to be at risk from bombing. The Blitz, the relentless bombing of Britain's cities, lasted from September 1940 to May 1941 and claimed over 40,000 civilian lives. Goodnight Mister Tom is set against this backdrop. Days of evacuees, Anderson shelters, billeting officers, blackout curtains and the old fashioned wireless. Plenty of nostalgia for me.
Goodnight Mister Tom was voted one of 100 favourite books in a BBC survey and voted favourite Puffin book at the Hay Literary Festival in 2010.
I recommend this story to all readers, the tale of William Beech evacuated to the countryside. A sad, deprived child who slowly begins to flourish under the care of kind old Tom Oakley. But then his cruel mother summons him back to war-torn London. Will he ever see Mister Tom again....?
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