Summary
“School”
It is Willie’s first day of school. The school is crowded with children because of the new evacuees in town. Willie meets up with Zach, George, and the twins. Mrs. Hartridge is the teacher in charge of 8-11 year olds. She asks Zach and Willie if they can read and write; Willie is ashamed to admit that he cannot. Willie is placed in Mrs. Black’s class instead, which makes him feel humiliated.
He returns home. Tom, seeing that Willie is upset at being in Mrs. Black’s class, offers to teach him to write his name that evening. This makes Willie happy, and he goes out with Sammy, running with joy. When Tom teaches him to write his name, he is surprised how well Willie is able to form his letters. To Willie, copying the shapes of his name is just like drawing. Willie is concerned that he will go to hell if he copies the letters, but Tom reassures him that this is not the case.
George, Carrie, and Ginnie come by to say they are sorry Willie is not in their class but that they would still like to play together. Zach comes by right after. The warden, Charles Ruddles, bursts in the house shortly after to complain that Tom has left a crack of light coming out of the house, and that during wartime it is important to black out the light completely. He leaves again dramatically and Tom and all the children except Willie laugh.
“Birthday”
It is Willie’s birthday and his sixth day in Little Weirwold. The postman brings a food offering from the Padfields, but no postcard from Willie’s mother. Willie receives many parcels and envelopes from people in the community. He receives a green balaclava hat and clothes from Tom. Willie is speechless at the many lovely gifts and cards he has been given. Tom also gifts him a sketchpad, paint, and a pencil carved with Willie’s name. Tom finds that gifting Willie these things that Rachel used to love is helping lift his sadness.
Willie goes to school for the day. Afterwards, Tom and Willie visit all of the people who gave him presents to thank them. It starts to rain and Tom suggests Willie goes to the church to draw. There, Willie is so absorbed in drawing that he doesn’t notice that Zach has come into the church. Zach peeks at Willie’s drawing and is amazed by it. Zach says that Tom wishes to talk to him. Willie goes to the cottage. Everyone is gathered there for a surprise party. They sing Willie happy birthday.
Zach insists Willie show everyone his drawing, which is of the carved eagle on the pulpit of the church. Everyone praises Willie and give him even more gifts, including a girl named Lucy, who gives him cakes she made herself. At the end of the night, Willie is so overwhelmed with excitement that he vomits.
“The Case”
This chapter outlines the next seven weeks of activity in Little Weirwold. There are lots of changes happening due to the war. Many of the evacuee children have returned to their parents. Willie is slowly learning how to read and write with the help of Emilia Thorne, the librarian. Willie plays with Zach every day, and sees the twins and George frequently as well. All five of them are at the Little’s house when Tom comes to deliver a large suitcase sent by Zach’s parents. We learn that Zach’s parents are theater performers, which astounds Willie, who was told by his mother that the theater is a place of sin.
The suitcase is stuffed with cake, theater scripts, and costumes. Zach puts on the tap shoes and demonstrates how to dance with them. Carrie teases him but Willie is mesmerized. He is told to stop by Mrs. Little after a piece of plaster from the ceiling falls down. Zach asks where the group can play next time; Willie nervously offers up his room and says he’ll ask Mr. Tom’s permission. Willie is pleased that he is such good friends with Zach.
Willie goes home with Tom. He insists on practicing his writing for a few minutes before bed. Tom has been helping him learn so that he can move into Mrs. Hartridge’s class, which he has desperately wanted. Willie nervously asks Tom if he can have his friends over on Friday and Tom agrees. Willie is worried that they will notice his bedwetting, but Tom assures him that he will hide the rubber sheet before they come.
Analysis
Things are quickly changing in these chapters. We see that Willie is transforming into someone totally different than the silent, scrawny boy who originally appeared on Mr. Oakley’s doorstep. He has a group of friends now and is even learning how to read and write. He is doing household chores, such as feeding Sammy. He even works up the courage to volunteer to have friends over in his room.
In these chapters we also discover a particular talent of Willie: writing and drawing. His determination to be in Mrs. Hartridge’s class makes him practice his writing every day, and from Tom’s praise we can intuit that Willie is very adept at forming his letters. Even though he does not yet understand what each letter signifies, his drawing skills make it so he is great at copying the penmanship. His enjoyment of this gives him the determination to keep trying, even though the idea of not being able to write was previously a source of shame for him.
Perhaps more than in any chapter before we are shown the kindness of the ordinary people in Little Weirwold, who have all remembered Willie’s birthday and gone out of their way to give him presents and make him feel special on that day, something he has never experienced in his life. The special attention is new and strange to him, but we see in these chapters Willie really coming out of his shell and learning to accept love and companionship.
Especially through the character of Zach, Willie is provided a contrast to see another way of life. For example, we are told Zach’s parents are theater performers. His mother has always told Willie that theater is something sinful. Willie thus is able to see that his mother’s warnings are merely stereotypes: ideas that do not match reality. Willie learns to open himself up to things and people that would have once been strictly forbidden back in London.
We can observe Magorian’s way of creating suspense and interest by slowly revealing plot details. For instance, in “The Case,” much anticipation is built as Zach and Willie wait for the suitcase to arrive at the door. Magorian doesn’t right away tell us what the boys are waiting for and instead lets us discover as the story unfolds. The mood of wartime chaos adds to the suspense in these moments, as we don’t know what type of plot development will occur at any given moment. We are told that many of the evacuee children are being sent back home, and this creates a sense of unease about the fate of Willie.
