One of the Telegraph's 50 BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF ALL TIME A stunning and heartbreaking new novel from Jamila Gavin, the bestselling and award-winning author of Coram Boy and The Wheel of Surya. "Flawless" -- Telegraph "A must-read" -- The Times "Exceptional" -- The Bookseller Children's Book of the Month Based on the true story of Indian WWI gunner and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan. The story is told from four perspectives: Lotte, a Belgian farmgirl whose village is the flashpoint for a battle; Ernst, a German teenage cavalry soldier whose grandiose dreams of war lie in tatters; Khudadad Khan, the gunner fighting with the British Army; and a wild walnut tree. When Lotte's farm is destroyed in the fighting, she and her sister flee with their young neighbour Michael, to take refuge beneath the walnut tree on the ridge -- a ridge currently being defended from the encroaching Germans by Indian gunner Khudadad Khan. There, they are joined by traumatised German soldier Ernst, whose horse lies lost in the trenches of the battle raging below. As their perspectives converge, their shared humanity emerges as a light in the darkness of war, safe beneath the branches of the walnut tree that shelters them all. Gold title * Based on the true story of Indian gunner Khudadad Khan, awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War * Told from four perspectives: a Belgian girl, a German boy, an Indian gunner and the walnut tree that shelters them all * Perfect for schools teaching the First World War * Jamila Gavin is the award-winning author of many children's books, including modern classic, Coram Boy, which won the Whitbread Children's Book Award and was a Tony-nominated play on Broadway and at the National Theatre. * Jamila's last book Never Forget You was The Times Children's Book of the Year 2022 Competition: Private Peaceful; When; The; Sky Falls; Skylarks; War; Came Home; Horse; Game; Five Children; Western Front; Charlotte Sometimes; Frightful First World War.

Emma Carroll; SF Said; Natasha Farrant; Michael; Morpurgo; Foreman; Phil Earle; Hilary McKay; Ian Serraillier; Sufiya Ahmed; Hannah Gold; Kate Saunders; Penelope Farmer.