Michelle Magorian

London is poised on the brink of World War II. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech--the abused child of a single mother--is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which...

As Britain stands on the brink of WWII, Tom Oakley, a cantankerous old man living a solitary life in a small village becomes the guardian of an 11-year-old evacuee of London. The two develop a bond of friendship that gives them both new hope.