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Sara's Reviews > Good Night, Mr. Tom
Good Night, Mr. Tom
by
by
Sara's review
bookshelves: children-s-literature, 2019-aty-challenge, historical-fiction, world-war-2
Aug 01, 2019
bookshelves: children-s-literature, 2019-aty-challenge, historical-fiction, world-war-2
When I read a book like this one, I try to imagine what my eight or ten year-old self would have thought of it. I’m pretty sure she would have loved this and read it more than once. It is beautifully written, very sweet and uplifting, and inspires kindness and a view of the world as a place that will rescue you.
William Beech is an evacuee from London during WWII, and Tom Oakley is the reclusive elderly man who has the boy foisted upon him. Will is a child who has been abused and bullied and his fear is evident almost immediately to Mr. Tom, who is a very kind man at heart. The reader witnesses the growing relationship that saves these two people, who don’t always fit with the rest of the world, as they face both everyday life and some traumatic experiences together.
I believe this would make an excellent book to read with a young person. They would learn a lot about life during WWII, you could talk about what it takes to make a family, how to overcome the difficulties life throws at you, and both of you could enjoy a good story and a fun read.
William Beech is an evacuee from London during WWII, and Tom Oakley is the reclusive elderly man who has the boy foisted upon him. Will is a child who has been abused and bullied and his fear is evident almost immediately to Mr. Tom, who is a very kind man at heart. The reader witnesses the growing relationship that saves these two people, who don’t always fit with the rest of the world, as they face both everyday life and some traumatic experiences together.
I believe this would make an excellent book to read with a young person. They would learn a lot about life during WWII, you could talk about what it takes to make a family, how to overcome the difficulties life throws at you, and both of you could enjoy a good story and a fun read.
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Reading Progress
July 26, 2019
– Shelved
July 26, 2019
– Shelved as:
waiting-in-line
July 31, 2019
–
Started Reading
August 1, 2019
– Shelved as:
children-s-literature
August 1, 2019
– Shelved as:
2019-aty-challenge
August 1, 2019
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
August 1, 2019
– Shelved as:
world-war-2
August 1, 2019
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-22 of 22 (22 new)
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Thank you, Elizabeth. I agree that the books we read when we are young help to shape us and inform who we become. Of course, I always hope that they will also make children into readers for life and they can keep learning and expanding and understanding points of view that they might not ever encounter in their everyday lives. Blessings on your mom!
Lovely review, Sara. Sounds like a special read.
Thank you, Diane. Made me wish I had a child to read to.
Wonderful review, Sara. A friend sent this book to me as a gift, and I'm sorry to say I have not yet picked it up. It sounds lovely.
Do read it when you get the chance, Candi. It is a nice break from harder fare...but, remember it is written for a young audience. I would put it in the same category with Anne of Green Gables. It is that kind of book that certainly has some appeal, even as an adult.
I guess I never realized that this was a children's book. It's been on my list for some time.
I had it on mine for a long time as well. I kept wavering about whether I really wanted to read it--glad I did.
I read this one earlier this year, Sara, and was completely sucked into this story, so much love and yet also so much heartbreak. Love your review!
Yes, indeed. It had levels that I was not expecting. The characters were drawn beautifully.
I'm not familiar with "The War that Saved My Life", Elyse, I'll have to add that one. This one was very sweet.Hugs back at 'ya. 🤗🤗🤗
Sara, I'm having trouble finding this book. I can't even get anything other than a DVD of the movie through interlibrary loan at my library! I'm so surprised it's not in the system! Where did you find the book? Any suggetions?
Terri, you can get a copy at Betterworldbooks.com for $4.74, which includes shipping. I tried to put a link, but d--n GR won't let me. Who do they think this is helping?
or, if you don't mind reading online, you can read it at
archive.org (again won't let me link) but search for it and you will see on the left a box you can check that says Availability and then Borrow 14 days. Check that and you will get the versions that are available for more than 1 hour at a time.
You borrow for an hour and then it will show you a button that says borrow for 14 days.
Hope you enjoy it--I think you will.
Thanks, Sara, so much for looking into that! I also looked at better world books and I did get one of those copies for cheap, free shipping! I’m looking forward to reading the book, and I can’t figure out why it’s not available anywhere! Any ideas? anyway, thanks so much for your help, and I’ll let you know what I think of the book! :)
I use better world most of the time when I need to purchase the book. The books are always the quality they say, which is important to me and the prices are right. I'm surprised the book isn't easily available from the library, hoopla or such. I can't remember what I used when I read it, but I think it was a library copy. Be looking forward to seeing what you think.
I saw the TV adaptation, starring the late, great John Thaw as Tom, a couple of decades ago. Wonderful recommendation as a book to read with young children, Sara, and a wonderful review!
Thank you, Kevin. I have searched for that movie and hope to see it someday. It was a Masterpiece Theatre production, and I suspect I saw it when it originally aired. I seem to have a vague memory of it.
Sara, I got my copy of this book in the mail today and it was a hardback! I was surprised. I hope the library will take it as a donation when I'm done with it. It is nowhere in our system. I'm excited to read it :)
So glad, Terris, and I hope the library will accept it, since it needs to be in every library collection.After this review resurfaced, I went and watched the movie. I realized right away that I had seen it before, but it was well worth sitting through again and highly recommended when you have finished the book.
Sara wrote: "So glad, Terris, and I hope the library will accept it, since it needs to be in every library collection.After this review resurfaced, I went and watched the movie. I realized right away that I h..."
Ok, thanks! I'll look for that :)
There is so much for a kid to learn, and these kinds of books can have such a wonderful and big impact on their lives, mine included!