Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom (also Good Night, Mr Tom) is a 1981 novel by Michelle Magorian. It follows a young boy, William Beech, who is evacuated from London during the air-raids of World War II, and put into the care of Tom Oakley, an elderly recluse. Thanks to Tom, William Beech is able to experience a new life of loving and care.

Two musicals based on the book have been written and a film has been made.

As Britain stands on the brink of the Second World War, many young children are sent into the countryside to escape the German bombardment. "Willie" Beech is one of these children. An unhappy, deprived child, he finds kindness and love in the home of curmudgeon Mr Thomas Oakley, who lives in the village of Little Weirwold. Tom has an affectionate collie dog named Sammy and a mare named Dobbs, kept in a nearby field. The book is set between September 1939 and the spring of 1941.