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The Machine GunnersRobert Westall
The Machine Gunners
by Robert Westall
Chas strips a machine gun from a crashed German bomber and hides it, and the children build a fortress nobody knows about.
A story about children, adventurous and thoughtful in tone. We would put it with children of 11–13, and at a reading age of about 11 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Death in wartime
- Frightening scenes
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
In a north-east coastal town during the Blitz, Chas McGill strips a working machine gun from a crashed German bomber and, with a gang of other children, builds a secret fortress around it — a private war of their own, run entirely out of sight of the adults. Robert Westall's Carnegie-winning novel is one of the great children's books about the Second World War, unsparing and true: it does not sentimentalise the children, who are tough, frightened and sometimes cruel, and it deals directly with wartime death and genuinely frightening scenes. It is a demanding, weighty read that respects its audience's ability to handle real danger and moral murk. For a confident, older reader of eleven to thirteen it is a superb, gritty piece of storytelling; it is too dark for younger or more sensitive children, but for the right reader it is unforgettable, and it makes the home-front war feel immediate in a way few textbooks can.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Young Sherlock Holmes: Death CloudAndrew Lane
I Am DavidAnne Holm
Waiting for AnyaMichael Morpurgo
Alone on a Wide Wide SeaMichael Morpurgo
Goodnight Mister TomMichelle Magorian
Listen to the MoonMichael Morpurgo
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.