Good Night, Mr. Tom

A battered child learns to embrace life when he is adopted by an old man in the English countryside during the Second World War.

Teen & Young Adult

MAGORIAN, MICHELLE

Historical Fiction

Harpercollins Childrens Books

When Willie Beech is evacuated from London just prior to the outbreak of World War 11, he is sent to live in the relative safety of the English countryside. The abused child of a single mother, Willie is at first terrified of the unfamiliar country sounds and the huge farm animals of the village of Little Weirwold. But with the help of Mr. Tom, the old man with whom he is staying, Willie begins to take his first, timid steps into a world he had never imagined existed before -- a delightful world of dazzling country mornings and silent, starfilled night skies -- a world where friendship and affection are exchanged as easily as gifts -- a world where Willie need not be afraid that one false step will lead to sharp words, or beatings, or worse. Willie learns to read, and with the help of Zach, an original and lively friend, he learns to laugh.
Then a telegram arrives from Willie's mother in London, and he must return to a world of despair and hate which he now remembers only in bad dreams. Weeks pass by; when Mr. Tom hears nothing from Willie, he fears for the boy's safety and he sets out for London, to look for the child he has come to regard as a son....
With unflinching honesty and a commanding voice, Michelle Magorian has written a first novel of rare insight. A powerful exploration of human emotion which is at once unsentimental and deeply moving, Good Night, Mr. Tom is a book which, once read, will not be forgotten.‘A small, timid refugee from wartime London—and from a sadistic mother—and a lonely villager who has reluctantly accepted the child form a bond of love and trust that is deeply touching. Michelle Magorian has created a vivid cast for an English story with universal and timeless appeal.’ —Zena Sutherland, IRA Children’s Book Award Chair. ‘An engrossing, vividly detailed novel.’ —BL. Winner, 1982 International Reading Association Children's Book Award Notable Children's Books of 1982 (ALA) 1982 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) 1983 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book) 1982 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL) 1983 Teachers' Choices (NCTE) Notable 1982 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) 1988 Choices (Association of Booksellers for Children) Children's Books of 1982 (Library of Congress)

Literature & Fiction

Harpercollins

Sent to America from England at age seven to escape war-torn England, Rusty returns five years later to go to a strict English boarding school and renew her relationship with her family, who now seem like strangers to her.

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Genre Fiction

Harper&Row

Having attended day care with his sister, Eric wonders who will look after him there, now that his sister is old enough to go to school.

Who's Going to Take Care of Me?

Children's Books

Growing Up & Facts of Life

Not a Swan

A seventeen-year-old girl in 1940's England spends an unchaperoned summer at a cottage in a seaside village, where a series of diaries by the cottage's most recent inhabitant, together with some intense personal experiences, open up her life to reveal her true wants and priorities.A seventeen-year-old girl in 1940's England spends an unchaperoned summer at a cottage in a seaside village, where a series of diaries by the cottage's most recent inhabitant, together with some intense personal experiences, open up her life to reveal her true wants and priorities

Convinced that she is an ugly duckling, Rose sees her family's evacuation from London and flight to a seaside village as the perfect opportunity to forget her woes, in a story of World War II England.

Now featuring gorgeous new cover art, this classic, powerfully emotional, award-winning novel is the perfect read to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. 
London is poised on the brink of World War II. Eight-year-old Willie Beech is evacuated to the English countryside and lands on Thomas Oakley’s doorstep, timid and scarred from abuse. Mr. Tom, a gruff but kindly old man, is deeply moved for the boy, treating him with a gentleness he’s forgotten he’s even capable of. With Mr. Tom’s help, Willie leaves behind his hateful past and learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection and joy. 
But then a telegram comes, and Willie is ordered to return to London. When weeks pass without word from him, Mr. Tom sets out for London to once again rescue the boy he’s come to love as a son. 
This heartwarming and much-honored classic is an excellent choice for independent or shared reading.

Winner of the 1982 IRA Children's Book Award
London is poised on the brink of World War II. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech--the abused child of a single mother--is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which harsh words and daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram comes. Willie must return to his mother in London. When weeks pass by with no word from Willie, Mr. Tom sets out for London to look for the young boy he has come to love as a son.‘A small, timid refugee from wartime London—and from a sadistic mother—and a lonely villager who has reluctantly accepted the child form a bond of love and trust that is deeply touching. Michelle Magorian has created a vivid cast for an English story with universal and timeless appeal.’ —Zena Sutherland, IRA Children’s Book Award Chair. ‘An engrossing, vividly detailed novel.’ —BL. Winner, 1982 International Reading Association Children's Book Award Notable Children's Books of 1982 (ALA) 1982 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) 1983 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book) 1982 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL) 1983 Teachers' Choices (NCTE) Notable 1982 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) 1988 Choices (Association of Booksellers for Children) Children's Books of 1982 (Library of Congress)

Rusty returns home to England after spending five years with a loving foster family in America during World War II and must adjust to her seemingly cold mother, a strict boarding school, and classmates who reject her for her exuberant outspokenness

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Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. Mum said war was a punishment from God for people's sins, so he'd better watch out. She didn't tell him what to watch out for, though. 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? 'Everyone's idea of a smash-hit first 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 Michelle Magorian was born in Portsmouth and on leaving school studied at the Rose Bruford College of speech and Drama and Marcel Marceau's International School of Mime in Paris. Over the years she became interested in children's books and decided to write one herself. The result was Goodnight Mister Tom, which won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, an International Reading Association Award and was also made into a much-loved film, starring the late John Thaw.

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Books by MAGORIAN, MICHELLE

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by MAGORIAN, MICHELLE. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Good Night, Mr. Tom

Good Night, Mr. Tom

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Who's Going to Take Care of Me?

Not a Swan

Not a Swan

Good Night, Mr. Tom

Good Night, Mr. Tom

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Puffin Essentials Goodnight Mister Tom