Goodnight Mister Tom: Michelle Magorian (A Puffin Book)

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William heals through his friendship with another recluse, Geoffrey Sanderton, a young man who lost a leg during the war and gives William private art lessons. When he is asked to fill in for someone, he turns out to be an incredibly talented actor, even impressing Zach.

He goes from living with an overly religious, abusive mother to the gruff but kind Tom, and develops, or something. Beech seems better after suffering a mental breakdown, but when Willie presents her with gifts that the locals from Little Weirwold had given him, and tells her about some of his friends, she accuses him of stealing and is angry he had been interacting with girls and Jews. William regains consciousness to find himself in the cupboard under the stairs, stripped down to his underwear, with his ankle twisted. Having very little recollection of ever reading this when I was younger, I relished at the thought of reading this out loud to our kids. This classic emotionally touching story of war, resilience of the human spirit, hope, family, friendship, love, anti-semitism, death and child abuse is beautifully written and atmospheric, dealing with the most difficult of issues.

With World War II looming over their heads, the city of London makes a decision to evacuate the children to the countryside. He has never been praised for anything before and feels embarrassed by it, but he soon comes to enjoy being appreciated by others.

Willie's new life with Tom eventually boosts his self-confidence and he opens up to Tom, looking up to him as a surrogate father figure. In September 1939, the United Kingdom declares war on Nazi Germany, and children are evacuated from London to the countryside for their safety. It soon becomes apparent to Tom that Willie hasn’t had a happy childhood, that in fact, he’s been subjected to cruelty and deprivation, and so Tom sets out to improve the boy’s life.Willie takes over as prompter after finishing the scenery and after a week he knows most of the play by heart. Although the two find it hard to adjust to their life together at first, they gradually develop a strong, mutual bond.

At the very end, William rides Zach’s bike, which impresses Tom, and he finally refers to Tom as “Dad. From Annie and Zach, William learns that he could not have fed a baby on his own and that a woman cannot conceive a child on her own.The characters are incredibly convincing and react in the most natural way possible, but at the same time surprise you at every turn. My heart warmed with every little gesture of kindness that shocked himself at how willing he was to adjust his life for William's well-being. The imagery is horrific and quite contrary to the idyllic life William experienced in Weirwold, which makes it all the more shocking and appalling when William has to relive this horror for a second time. The hard part of the story begins when the mentally unstable mother in London claims her child back.