Bootleg

All chocolate will be illegal from 5.00pm today . . .

The Good For You Party has been elected to power in Britain and is busy improving the health of the population. Fruit and vegetables are compulsory, sweets and chocolate banned, and children must take the Politeness Pledge and perform at least one good deed per day.

Best friends Smudger and Huntly despair as Chocolate Detector Vans roam the streets and search-and-destroy squads of Chocolate Troopers raid their homes. But when they discover an overlooked stock of cocoa and sugar in Mrs Bubby's corner shop, they decide to fight back.

Their secret chocolate-making business takes off fast and soon the boys are running a profitable bootleg operation - but can they stay ahead of the law . . .?

Alex Shearer's new children's novel is a highly entertaining and subversive comedy that combines two great themes - the importance of chocolate, and outwitting authority. It was first created as a BBC TV drama.