"Good Night, Mr. Tom",is an excellent historical novel, by Michelle Magorian, set in World War II. This is a wonderful and touching story, about a small boy, named Willie Beech, who is evacuated from London to live in Little Weirwold with a complete stranger, Mr. Thomas Oakley. Tom is an old man, not used to children (he had a baby bay that died, but that was his only child), but he is kind to Willie. Willie is a deprived and abused child, and he is afraid of everything, because he wasn't let outside much in his earlier life. Slowly, Willie starts to think on his own, and he forgets the hate and despair of his past. Tom comes to love Willie like a son. Then a telegram comes, and Willie must return to his abusive mother in London, but weeks pass and Willie doesn't come back, so Mr. Tom goes to London to try to find the boy he has come to love so much. I would recommend this book to anyone young or old wo wants to read an excellent book. I hope all who read this book enjoy it as much as I did.

In Michelle Magorian's novel Good Night, Mr. Tom, she brilliantly illustrates the hardships of a young child growing up post World War II after having being abused and abandoned by his mother, the one person who was truly supposed to love him. After being shipped from London to the English countryside to live with Mr. Tom, Willie has to adjust to living in a world he never knew existed. A world in which love, affection and friendships flourish. Magorian uses what she knows to set the plot, being that she was born and raised mostly in England. Her parents met each other during the World War II and perhaps she was reflecting on her own issues because as a child she lived a couple of years in Singapore and Australia. She eventually came back to England when she was 9 years old, but had already been moved around a lot, as did the main character in the book. The New Yorker called Magorian's novel "An engrossing and poignant story, with much sunlight to balance the darkness." Jim Trelease from The Read-Aloud Handbook said it was "powerful." And that, it is.

The book Good Night Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian, was a book I extremely enjoyed reading. When I first looked at the title, I wasn't too attracted to reading the book but once I caught the basic idea on what it was about on the inside, I was eager to read it. I'm glad I did, because this book is one of the most heartbreaking stories I have read. The story starts out very nicely, introducing the main character, William aka Willie aka Will. Unlike some books, the beginning of the story catches your attention and does throughout the whole book. The sad part is, Will is an evacuee and constantly gets seriously abused by his mother. With no father to help him out and his mother not willing to take him during a war, Will is sent house after house with other children to be accepted somewhere else. Will's mother is a religious type but takes everything to another dangerous and extreme level that hurts herself as well as her son. Will is very lucky and ends up in a small town named Little Weirwold with Thomas Oakley, or whom Will learned to call, Mister Tom. Hardened by the loss of his son and wife, he gradually starts to accept Will and in a way, takes him in as his own son. After making friends, discovering talents, creating memories and going on wild adventures, he slowly regains the childhood that he missed. Learning that his before life was not suppose to be, Will is reluctant to return to his mother because she is "sick." The rest of the story is something you need to find out yourself. Even I cannot express the joy and sorrows with reading this heart touching story. Only the readers can feel this by encountering it for themselves. The reason this book received the rating it did is because it was so nicely put together, it makes the reader see the innocence of Will when it's such a heart break just to see him learning new things that are common to us. Michelle Magorian also brought out the infinite patience and love of Mister Tom. This made the story even more special because of the hero role he plays to Will. Another reason is because she makes the conclusion and ending worthwhile the read. It was as if the only reason I was reading the book was to get to the end. The final important reason was because the whole book was exciting. I cannot remember one moment in the book where I wanted to stop. The experiences little William became a part of me and I wanted to encourage this character as he went struggling through his rough life. Overall, this book was very satisfying. I hope to read more books like this in the future... a true heartache. (Very special book)

Virginia Dickenson is sent to America from England as a 7 year-old to be sheltered from World War II. She spends five years with a family there, and gains the name Rusty. When she gets home, life changes dramatically. She feels unloved and her mother expects better behavior, and enforces rules strictly. When Rusty's father comes home from war, he cannot believe that she answers him back, and doesn't take "because I said so and I am the man of the house" as a suitable answer. He sends her to an even stricter all-girl boarding school, where she is an outcast. She doesn't know latin, french, or algebra and is made fun of because of her accent. Then she meets a boy who hates his all-boy school, too, and was sent near where she was in America for the war. They discover (on a prohibited secret night visit to the woods) a cabin. Can Rusty survive boarding school?

Back Home is about a girl called Virginia Dickinson (Rusty) and she was evacuated to America when she was 5 and so she adapted to the American way of life as she stayed there until she was 12. She came home to a war torn country and a totally new way of life. She has to blend in with her family and make new friends but she finds this very difficult. She cannot stop thinking about her American family and thinks of them closer than her real family. Her Grandmother and Father then come into the picture and want her sent off to boarding school and to lose that 'awful' accent and become the sophisticated child she used to be before her vacation. (Rusty is her nickname because of her hair) Rusty does not fit in and so she has no friends only enemys and everyone in the school is against her. Her only friend is Lance a 'Boy' from another school. Her life goes on like this and it really gets her down but she cannot tell anyone this except Lance........ To find out what happens read this 'superb book' I am sure you will love it Miss it Miss out!

This book was fabulous! It's about a girl who returns to England after the war. She doesn't fit in with the other girls at the boarding school, everything she does annoys her mother at first, and when her father comes home it's even worse! I can't go on, or I'll give away the ending, but READ THIS BOOK! 1

I found this book at the Pre-school I work at. It was an interesting story about a boy losing his older sibling who started kindegarten. So he has to go about his daily life without his older sibling to help him. I was shocked when I read the authors name. I loved Not a Swan and had to snag this book from work and keep it for my very own. This is truly a good book to read to a child whose older brother or sister is going to kindegarten and they get left behind. My younger sister read the book and said she remembers feeling the same way when I left her for my fancy life at Kindegarten. Anyways, a nice book, good pictures and a must have for all Michelle Magorian fans.