Tom explains a bad dream that Willie has repeatedly been having regarding this exact event, and argues that he needs to be with someone who loves him. So Thomas, a man withdrawn by choice and grief, and William, a boy withdrawn by abuse and neglect, found themselves together and slowly healing in each other’s company. I would recommend this book to children above the age of 9 as it is a good book but some parts are sad and parts of it could be quite disturbing for younger children. Willie Beech an 8 year old boy severely deprived and abused by his psychotic religious crank mother, is evacuated from his home in London on the eve of the Second World War to the English countryside town of Little Weirwold where he is billeted with the semi-reclusive elderly villager Tom Oakley.

He manages to find Tom’s neighborhood and convinces a policeman to kick down the door of William’s seemingly empty house. On the eve of World War II, Mister Tom's simple life changes, in the efforts of trying to make a life more pleasant and agreeable and accommodating for a small boy who had never known what it felt like to be loved. To the people in his village of Little Weirwold, Thomas was an isolated, bad tempered, and frosty man, but to the officer, he was the perfect fit for this particular evacuee. He had such a transformation in character that it was great to see how he gradually picked up the town accent and Zach’s phrases and smiled more. I can't even remember how often I read it as a young teenager, but I still feel that shiver going down my spine.As does his dog Sammy, who seems happy to have a young person around, and bonds quickly with Willie. Consequently, Willie has developed a genuine talent for drawing, which is a quiet pursuit, and something for which he receives great praise.

This is such a great story, it’s about the transformative power of kindness and understanding, of patience and friendship. Michelle Magorian's award winning historical novel is a wonderful re-read for me, I read it so long ago and it was a joy to re-acquaint myself with it. After a huge threat of bombing raids from the German Air Force in his hometown, Willie is sent to Little Weirwold, a country village in the north of England. Will does not deal well with his loss, avoiding every place that reminds him of Zach and finding himself unable to paint because he feels empty inside. Tom, who has inferred about Willie's past of abuse, reassures him it is a normal part of adjusting to his new life.He realises his mother had sex with a man, though she told him that it was a sin for unmarried men and women to consort.

It also involves Willie stealing his dead friend’s bike, which just shows what sort of a person he is.Tom and Will form a deep connection, so much so that Tom is informed through a dream that Willie is in danger while in London. The writing is so evocative of a wartime country village, and the characters all feel real and fully developed. I have to say, along with To Kill A Mockingbird, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this book is one of my all-time favourites.

I think there should be more black characters in fiction, it’s overrun with straight, white, able-bodied American or English males, you know the type, and a break is welcome as the majority of people in the world do not fit into that group, but please do not change your character’s ethnicity halfway through the novel because they get a tan.I would recommend this books to children no younger than 9 as it is quite sad in parts and may disturb younger readers.