Tom Playfair: Making a Start

by Francis J. Finn

Book Overview

The story opens with 10-year-old Tom Playfair being quite a handful for his well-meaning but soft-hearted aunt. (Tom's mother has died.) Mr. Playfair decides to ship his son off to St. Maure's boarding school--an all-boys academy run by Jesuits--to shape him up, as well as to help him make a good preparation for his upcoming First Communion. Tom is less than enthusiastic, but his adventures are just about to begin. Life at St. Maure's will not be...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1727857216
• ISBN13: 9781727857214
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5

Customer Reviews

The best book in my youth

I've been looking for the re-print of this book for more than 20 years in spanish and finally it cames in English in US. These three books (with Percy Winn and Harry Dee) are the best I could read when I was 10 to 14 years old, but they still are excellent books for people of any age and gender. Tom, Percy, Harry, and many others are very real characters and readers of all ages could identify with them. Don't think it twice, buy all of them. And there is another new 4th book available also from Francis Finn, "Claude Lightfoot or How the Problem was Solved"

A Book for Girls, Too

Although this is not the best book Ive ever read(maybe because Im a girl) I still couldnt put it down. Tom's character traits are not the hasty outline of a real boy, but suggest in full detail a real,living, all-American boy. Harry, Tom's friend, is impressive, but not as well protrayed. However, "crazy Green" is, I think, the clearest and most real character in the book. He is a mean , boasting bully in the beginning, but as you read on, you begin to sympathize with him and at the part when he-Wait. I never tell the story of the book in my review, so BUY THIS BOOK!!! Did I mention I'm Catholic? Well this book was written by a priest. & I am catholic.

Off to a Great Start

Tom Playfair,or Making a Start, is probably one of the best books I've ever read. It is a book you start reading and suddenly your hooked,and you can't get away from it. It all happens when a little boy of ten or eleven is sent of to a boarding school called St. Maures. Mr. Playfair or Tom as he likes being called is suddenly one of the most popular kids of the small yard, but because he is not an "old boy" or since this is his first year, he still has one enemy. John Green, or Crazy Green, who is an "old boy" who's favorite thing to do is stand waiting at a doorway to trip new kids on the first day but when he comes to our little hero who had examined the case closely and just watched his friend Harry Quip also an "old boy" walk through the door unharmed. Bravely walked out through the door way, obviously Green tried to trip him, but Tom just kept going and stepped right on Green's foot. Another time Tom who was just warned by Harry that Green was going to put a sign on his back saying kick me I am a fool. Of course Tom had a plan, he and Harry headed down to the handball alley. Harry standing in front was supposed to pull out his hankerchief as a signal that Green's behind him. Harry gave Tom the signal and the plan was in action, Tom quickly asked Harry,"Talking of jumping, hows this," At this remark Tom gave a sharp kick backwards and hit Green so hard that he fell backwards to the ground. Tom turned and apoligized, then he picked up the paper that had dropped from Greens hands read it and asked Green well you got what you wanted, but are you truly a fool? That is all I will tell you about our little hero but, Tom also stars in the books Percy Wynn, or Making a Boy of Him, and Harry Dee, or Working it Out.