Good Night, Mr. Tom

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)