Product Description

'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..."...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".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3663 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Sophie-Ann Leyland (Age 13) in The Historical Novels Review, May 02
...certainly the best war book I have ever read. It describes things very well and has a good story line.

About the Author
Robert Westall was born in 1929 on Tyneside, where he grew up during the Second World War. He studied Fine Art and Sculpture, and for many years taught in schools throughout the North of England. His first novel for children, The Machine Gunners won the Carnegie Medal in 1975. He won it again in 1982 for The Scarecrow (the first writer to win the medal twice), the Smarties Prize in 1989 for Blitzcat, and the Guardian Award in 1991 for The Kingdom By The Sea. He died in 1993.

Customer Reviews

one of the best books i have ever read
this is quite possibly on of the best books i have ever read! Westall is an excellent writer and this book shows that he is a master story teller. the detail is extraordinary, the story line deep and intruiging and the characters are a stroke of pure genius. Chas Mcgill , the main character, is incredibly realistic and one which many can relate with. Chas' quest for war souveniers leads him to discover a German machine gun. He sets up a dugout with the machine gun planted in it. Here he helps defend Garmouth from bombing raids. This novel is an excellent example of Westall's fine story telling talent and is a book for all ages, as we see children not only enjoying themselves but being independant and seperated from the adult world.

A thrilling tale that races along with relentless pace.
This book is totally captivating. With the Nazi aircrafts raining bombs on the town of Garmouth every night, there are many war souvenirs like bullet casings and nose cones of aircrafts. However, Chas Mc Gill finds a working machine guns that he extracts from a fallen aircraft with live bullets. This is a stunning tale of survival during war times packed with irresistable adventures. Chas and his friends build a secret fortress to fight the Germans and they have many interesting and smashing encounters along the way. They take care of a kind Nazi soldier, help their orphaned friend and have barrage balloons falling on them.The writing is superb throughout and the pace is sustained very well. Although there are some obscenities, I feel it adds realism and life to the story. The ending is poignant and extremely touching. I rate this as one of the best books that I have ever read.A fascinating and smashing read! I HIGHLY recommend this to everyone!

The Best Book In England
This Book Contains incredable characters.As Chas McGill Finds a German Plane that had crashed into the old towm hall. Containing a German Gunner and a shining black Machine Gun. And Chas thinks he can become partof the World War 2. As Nickys house gets bombed and his mother dies, Chas decides by help Nicky build a Fortress so Nicky can stay there and look arter the Machine Gun.