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Goodnight, Mr. Tom is one of the best books I've ever read, and this dvd is an excellent representation of the book. John Thaw is the best as Mr. Tom. We have had the video for years, but now have moved up to the dvd! EXCELLENT family film, although there are some fairly graphic scenes of child abuse. But such a wonderful ending for both the old man, and the boy in the film. It's definitely one of our favorites!


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Back Home Michelle Magorian Books Reviews

Just finished reading the book and needed to see the film again, having watched it a good few years ago.

Obviously a lot was left out that was in the book and sometimes it seemed a bit disjointed but John Thaw can do no wrong in my eyes and he really made the film. There was a real feel of the time, from the clothing to the housing and vehicles in use.

A bittersweet story. Watch the film and then find a copy of the book. You won't regret it.
I had not heard of the book, Good Night, Mr. Tom, by Michelle Magorian (copyright 1981) until my mother-in-law mentioned it several years ago. She had been evacuated during World War II and recommended it highly. Reading this book was like stepping back into pre-World War II rural England, complete with thatched cottages, heavy country accents, and hard-working, thrifty villagers. (Perhaps I've seen too many episodes of the Vicar of Dibley on PBS, but the characters in this story seem very vivid and realistic.)

Good Night, Mr. Tom is about a young boy named William Beech who is evacuated from London at the beginning of the war to a safer rural village called Little Weirwold. Nine-year-old Willie is the only child of an abusive, over-religious single mother. We learn that his mother will not allow him to be evacuated unless he can stay with someone "who is religious or who lives near a church."

Tom Oakley, 60-some-year-old caretaker of the local village church and cemetary, is a cranky, embittered old man who ends up with Willie. It soon becomes clear to old Tom that Willy's life in London was very different. Like many children from poor London neighborhoods, Willie is suddenly exposed to a whole new life in Little Weirwold. He has never seen a cow before, nor picked blackberries, nor slept in a real bed. He knows nothing about fresh milk, squirrels, garden dirt, horses, riding a bicycle, swimming, or even petting a dog. Timid Willie has no friends and cannot read.

We learn through the course of the book about Tom's life as a young man and the tragedy of his beloved wife Rachel. His gruffness begins to fall away as he and his little dog Sammmy help Willie learn to read and to heal. Willie begins to live life as a normal boy with Tom's kindness and his newfound friend, Zack, a fellow evacuee who is Jewish. Willie makes friends, and his talent for drawing and painting begins to blossom. He becomes a part of life in Little Weirwold. It's a happy life, in spite of the outbreak of war.

The reader begins to forget that Willie is an evacuee. He has gradually become a happy, healthy, pink-cheeked little boy--not Willie any longer, but the "William" that Tom has helped him to be. William and Zack, such opposites, are the best of friends (or, as Zack says, they're "jolly, jolly fine!")

Then comes a message that William's mother is ill. She wants him back in London. William must leave his life in Little Weirwold to reunite with his mother. Tom waits for three weeks, but there is no word from William. Fear drives Tom to board the train to London to seek out the boy he was begun to love as his own. . .

American readers will learn a great deal about English life during the 1930-40's Terms like "blackout curtains," "Anderson shelter," "balaclava," billeting," "cuppa" "drapers" and "Mackintosh." Various British accents of the characters mingle to create a realistic portrayal of the island Tom's thick country accent, Zack's "posh BBC" kind of London accent, Glad's toothless lisp, and even the young Scottish soldier's speech on the train. Most of all, it is a rich story about realistic characters that unfolds gradually and naturally--or as Tom says, "Everythin' in its own time."

Although we meet Willie's mother only once in the book, fairly late, she remains the unseen force that controls William's life. Willie has been abused, but the abuse is not the focus of the plot. It is the relationships between Willie, Tom, and Zack, which give the story its heart. Ultimately, it is the mother who determines what happens for William and Tom.

Good Night, Mr. Tom, is truly a heartwarming story, bittersweet, at times a bit raw, but never contrived. Michelle Magoria received the 1982 IRA Children's Book Award as a new author. I would strongly recommend this for readers ages 11 and up who enjoy history and are looking for a quality reading experience.
Even though this was probably written for preteens and teens, it's well-written and should be enjoyable reading for adults, too. The story covers something that is seldom talked about--the experiences of the young people who were sent away from England during WWII and how they adjusted to life when they came home. The kids had to feel like they had a foot in two worlds. And the families they left behind were just as confused. I liked Rusty, the main character, and really respected her for holding on to her individuality when everyone was telling her to conform. I also felt sympathy for the mother, as she had to keep things going smoothly at home when she must have felt worried about her daughter in America and must have missed her terribly.
Excellent story set during WWII of a young boy who travels from London to a small village and is assigned to the home of Mister Tom, played by John Thaw. Mister Tom is a dismayed old man who comes to love the boy who has been thrust into his home for the duration of the war. The story is tragic, poignant, but uplifting also. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Oh, how I miss John Thaw!!!
Goodnight, Mr. Tom is one of the best books I've ever read, and this dvd is an excellent representation of the book. John Thaw is the best as Mr. Tom. We have had the video for years, but now have moved up to the dvd! EXCELLENT family film, although there are some fairly graphic scenes of child abuse. But such a wonderful ending for both the old man, and the boy in the film. It's definitely one of our favorites!