Goodnight, Mr Tom......

[BertrandRussell]

...too much for imaginative, sensitive 8 year old bookworm? I’m inclined to think so.....

We read it in school at that age so no, I think it's fine.

I'd agree it's too much. It would probably be mostly fine but there are a couple of dark bits near the end.

Pretty sure we were 12-13 or so when we read it at school, which feels about right. The depictions of abuse and mental illness are tough going, from what I remember. They’re a small part of the book, but the bits that stick with me.

‘Back Home’, by the same author, is less well known and very good. From what I remember it’s dramatic without being so potentially upsetting. ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’ might be another option if you want a WW2 novel.

We read it in school at 9/10 years old. I'd already read it at the point. Depends on the emotional maturity of your child, only you can judge that.

We read it in primary 6. Still one of my favourites.

I read it in year 4 so age... 8? Is that right?

Love the book and love the film. Beautiful story.

It really upset me when I read it as a child and it stayed with me for a long time. I don’t think I’d ever realised that parents could be so cruel until I read it and I found that discovery really unsettling.

My son has just finished reading it this week, he is in year 5.

I still can't bear to read bits of it! Back Home is good but I think perhaps not ideal either, father in it is a bully and it has some tough scenes in it. The 'youngest' of her books that I've read is A Spoonful of Jam (a sequel to the Cuckoo in the nest but aimed at younger readers and stands alone) - it is a post war one, young girl protagonist who is dealing with bullying and ends up acting. Has quite a bit on being happy with who you are and not pretending to be something else, I don't remember it being as emotionally tough as her other books.

Hmm, yes, I think i’ll save it for a couple of years. I’ve got him The Phantom Tollbooth and Stig of the Dump- looking for one more. I’m the great aunt who “gives me amazing olden times books” so I have a reputation to maintain!

I made the mistake of reading it as a child and was totally traumatised. I still feel traumatised when I think about it. I can't understand why it's seen as a children's book. It is not suitable for children of any age in my opinion.

I won't be letting my DC read it.

@BertrandRussell oh I'd love that reputation! I wish my nephews and nieces were bookworms!

Oooo. Phantom tollbooth, good call. I might have to go reread it now you've reminded me of it!

My 9 yr old has just had that read to him in class at school, so i wonder whether its psrt of the curriculum? So you could wait a year. We took him and my 7 yr old to a theatre production of it recently. They were ok, I sobbed like I still do with the film. They said it was sad and my 7 yr old didn't quite understand the way the death of Zach was portrayed but it was very good and they have been fine.

It's a brilliant book and I even watched the film (with John Thaw) with my dad recently - dad was a bit at first but at the end he said he'd found it quite emotional.

I read it at primary school, probably aged 8 or 9. Didn't traumatise me in the slightest.

And I was a very sensitive child!

Ime yes.

For that age I like Stig of the Dump. It has a tremendous imaginative side and the edgiest thing in it is the lads smoking.

I as an adult found Goodnight Mr Tom troubling and the mother portrayed is so beyond the norm I just think it's a story for later on when the child's sense for what is "normal" in the world is stronger.

I think I was about 8 when I read it, and while it's one of my favourite children's books, it is quite dark. Have you tried The Ghost of Thomas Kempe? DS loved that.

I also think When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a very good child's eye view novel.

If you're looking for "olden time" books, have you tried the green knowe series? Or Tom's midnight garden? E Nesbit, secret garden, Julia Harman. I've longer to share these with mine but haven't been successful, I think they're too removed from what they know. I'm currently reading the dark is rising series to myself as they didn't want to carry on after the first one

Stig of the Dump is an amazing book for that age group. Fires up the imagination wonderfully. Lucky them getting such gifts!

Horrid horrid book I won't let my two read it

Wolves of Willoughby Chase worked well here.

I agree that Goodnight Mister Tom might be too much at eight years old. Back Home was one of my favourites when I was younger, and the Spoonful of Jam series was fab too (I seem to remember learning a lot about East End hop-picking holidays ). Definitely recommend them but maybe in a couple of years.

Judith Kerr's 'Out of the Hitler Time' trilogy is fabulous and really eye-opening for younger readers in terms of learning about having to flee your country and becoming a refugee, which might be particularly relevant today. I remember it as being written very much through the eyes of a child (particularly 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' but also 'Bombs on Aunt Dainty').

I loved books about the Second World War when I was his age - I'll get my thinking cap on and try to give you some other recommendations