The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

'.... not just the best book so far written for children about the Second World War, but also a metaphor for now.' Aidan Chambers, Times Literary Supplement

'Some bright kid's got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo. And that gun's no peashooter. It'll go through a brick wall at a quarter of a mile.'

Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants it to be the best. When he stumbles across the remains of a German bomber crashed in the woods - its shiny, black machine-gun still intact - he grabs his chance. Soon he's masterminding his own war effort with dangerous and unexpected results....

About the Author
 
Robert Westall made a sensational debut with THE MACHINE GUNNERS in 1975. It won the Carnegie Medal and Westall established an international reputation. His books have been translated into ten languages and dramatised for television. He won The Smarties Prize, the Guardian Award and was twice awarded The Carnegie Medal.

"Westall was a writer of rare talent. We shall miss him but he has left us such a wonderful legacy." Michael Morpurgo