Goodnight Mister Tom! (Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian)

Member Name: rose1986

Product:	Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian
Date:	20/12/07 (414 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Heart-warming, Gripping Story, Leaves you wanting more

Disadvantages: You wont want to put the book down!

Goodnight Mister Tom has always been one of my favourite stories from when I was younger. I remember my mum bought me the book for my Christmas one year after I watched the drama on TV and I loved it. The novel was actually written in 1981 by Michelle Magorian and the drama was first played on TV in 1998. The drama was directed by Jack Gold and I remember it being brilliant.

The story is about a young boy called William Beech who was just 10 years old when he was evacuated from his home town, London, where he lived with his mother during the Second World War. William is amongst a group of children brought to a quiet village and a gentleman called Tom Oakley is asked if he would care for William whilst the war is ongoing. Tom is an old man who lost his wife and baby forty years ago and is bitter and lonely. However, during the story Tom comes around with young William and he helps him learn how to write and care for himself, make friend's and start school.

Tom realises that William was beaten when he was at home and was in an abusive house hold. However, you I recommend you read the story to find out what happens next. Will Tom try and keep young William so that he can look after him or will William be sent back home to London to live with his mother?

I liked this story a lot when I was younger as I found it interesting because this is the kind of thing children and parent's would have went through at a difficult time like this. You see William and Tom both change through the story and it is heart-warming. The drama series was excellent too as you got another person's perception of what the story was like. However, stories are great for imagining for yourself what people look like, how they act, what the surroundings were like etc. The difference with the drama is that it shows how real the war was and the pain and sadness the people went through at a time like this.

The book is quite long and is available from shops such as Waterstone's and costs roughly £4.99. I also find that at this time of year, the drama is often shown at least once. If it does come on TV I would definitely recommend you watch it as you will be hooked. The drama is sometimes a 2-part series and lasts for roughly 100 minutes altogether.

I think the story is ideal for all ages above 10+ and for both sexes. I think the story is also partly educational as it gives an insight in to what happened during the war. The story is gripping and will leave you wanting more.

Summary: Brilliant read for all ages