The Machine Gunners (1975)

by Robert Westall

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Showing 3 of 3

Easy to read, fun, and not as predictable as I'd thought it would be. Set in WW2, like the other book of Westall's that I've read, and focusing on children and their lives and concerns during the Blitz, it has more action than I remember from A Kingdom By the Sea. There's a lot of educational aspects to the book, without preventing it being readable. (

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shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 |

Sympathetic tale of group of children who arm themselves with a German machine gun and prepare to take on the invading German army. Interesting tale of growing up during WW2. (

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harveybiggins | Apr 11, 2011 |

If you like the box car children you will like the story. The children have the us against the adults adventure. After a air raid a group of english children hide a german machine gun from adults who are looking for it. (

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JOAN34785 | Mar 23, 2010 |

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Series (with order)

Canonical title

The Machine Gunners

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Carnegie Medal (1975)

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1977)

Guardian 1000 (War and travel)

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up (2009.0872|2009, Ages 12↑)

Carnegie of Carnegies (2007, shortlist)

Epigraph

Dedication

To Christopher Westall, his book.

First words

When Chas awakened, the air-raid shelter was silent.

Quotations

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.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Chambers, Aidan

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Chirton Hall

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0330397850, Paperback)

'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".

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:46:09 -0400)

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▾Library descriptions

Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants it to be the best.

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