Goodnight Mister Tom

When the Second World War breaks out, young Willie Beech is evacuated to the countryside. A sad, deprived child, he 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?

Tells the story of young Willie Beech, evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of the Second World War.

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Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep. The tales he had heard about evacuees didn't seem to fit Willie. 'Ungrateful' and 'wild' were the adjectives he had heard used, or just plain 'homesick'. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen.

Britain, 1940. With World War Two raging all around, young children are being sent from their homes in the city to the countryside for safety. When eight-year-old Willie Beech first arrives on Tom Oakley's doorstep, neither are quite sure what to make of each another.

Brought up in terrible poverty, Willie is terribly shy, and totally unprepared for village life - but the gruff-but-gentle 'Mister Tom' quickly takes him under his wing. Neither he nor Willie could ever have predicted the journey they will go on together - nor the unbreakable bond that will be formed.

Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, and rightly hailed as a true classic of children's literature, Goodnight Mister Tom is a beautifully told, deeply moving story about the power of friendship, kindness, hope - and love.

'Everyone's idea of a smash-hit novel: full-blown characters to love and hate, moments of grief and joy, and a marvellous story that knows just how to grab the emotions' - Guardian