The Green
Machines
Picture books about helpful vehicles with big personalities
Helpful vehicles with big personalities live in and around one English village. Each book is about one of them, and the one thing they always get wrong.
Series One
Twelve little adventures in Little Muddlebury. Start anywhere you like.
Meet the Green Machines
A whole village of helpful vehicles with big personalities.
Harry
New in the village, eager, and can't fit anywhere.
AM General HMMWV (Humvee)
Willy
Cheeky, quick, a bit of a show-off.
Willys MB
Dinky
The smallest of the Green Machines: shy, quiet and very shiny.
Daimler Dingo scout car (a reproduction)
Foxy
Clever, an overthinker, actually a softie.
Fox armoured car, CVR(W)
Fiona
Very kind, organised, counts heads.
FV432 personnel carrier
Gamma
Noisy, bendy, enthusiastic.
M561 Gama Goat 6x6
Danny
Modern, tidy, likes rules.
Leyland DAF 4-tonner (T244)
Scamp
The tortoise of the depot: never gives up.
Scammell Pioneer recovery
Kitty
Kind, calm, first-aider to the depot.
Austin K2/Y ambulance
Denise
Big, strong, built for the heaviest loads, and friends with everybody.
Diamond T 980 tank transporter
Old Charlie
Prize-winner (rosette, 1953) and a bit vain about it.
Austin Champ
Quack
Salty old seaside truck with glasses and a pet duck, who does the talking for him.
GMC DUKW amphibious truck
Wolfie
Calm, sensible, everyone's older brother.
Land Rover Wolf (Defender XD)Welcome to Little Muddlebury
A green with a duck pond, a post office and tea shop, a farm with a very muddy field, a stone bridge over the brook, a show ground on Steep Hill, and the seaside at Muddlebury-on-Sea twenty minutes away.
Take a look around →Can you spot the duck?
One mallard hides in every picture. Keep your eyes open as you turn the pages.
Every book ends with real facts
Yes. Every Green Machine is based on a real vehicle, from the Willys Jeep and the Humvee to the Chieftain and the DUKW. Each character page on this site and the last page of each book gives true facts about the real vehicle.
Find your next story
Military Mart is an army surplus retailer with an online shop and two stores, in Lancashire and North Wales. It is the preferred distributor for The Green Machines, for shoppers and for the trade.
Buy the books ↗Coming next
Good questions
What are The Green Machines?
The Green Machines is a series of children's picture books written by David Woods. Each book is about one helpful vehicle with a big personality, living in and around the English village of Little Muddlebury. Every character is based on a real classic military vehicle, and every book ends with a page of true facts about it.
What age are The Green Machines books for?
The books are written to be read aloud to children aged 4 to 7, in full, lively sentences with plenty of sounds and questions to join in with. Dinky, Book Four, is aimed at ages 4 to 8.
How many books are in Series One?
Series One has 12 books so far: Harry, Danny, Kitty, Dinky, Foxy, Fiona, Denise, Willy, Quack, Scamp, Old Charlie and Gamma. Marty is Book Thirteen, and more are on the way. There are 38 machines in the village, and each one is due a book of its own.
What order should the books be read in?
Each book is a complete story, so they can be read in any order. Reading them in number order means you meet the characters as the village grows: Harry, Danny, Kitty, Dinky, Foxy, Fiona, then Denise.
Where can I buy The Green Machines books?
Military Mart is the preferred distributor for The Green Machines. The books are sold through militarymart.co.uk and in Military Mart's shops in Burscough, Lancashire and Llangollen, North Wales. Trade and wholesale orders also go through Military Mart.