AKA the Iron Giant in the USA...

This book was an extremely popular story when I was in primary school and I was with the majority in liking it a lot. Nearly four decades on I can't quite figure out the appeal, besides the outlandish nature of the protagonist and antagonist and their unusual contest.

Now it seems obviously to be a serial bed-time story Hughes made up for his kids and then wrote down for publication, much as Ffangs the Vampire Bat and the Kiss of Truth is, but with at least a proper ending rather than just an abrupt halt.

I'm gonna guess that young enough kids still like it, though. ( )

Great book to read to a kid. The prose is clean and the logic of the story makes perfect kid-sense. Writing something this clean is harder than it seems. ( )

Ted Hughes's The Iron Man served as the inspiration for the 1999 Warner Bros. film The Iron Giant. Hughes's story, originally published in 1968, features the titular Iron Man who terrorizes a town by eating their metal products, and the boy Hogarth, who finds a way to talk to him. Unlike the animated film, the story is set in Hughes's native England, and, though set around the time in which it was written, it contains a certain timeless quality that will appeal to all readers.
The second half of the book did not make it into the film, as a "space-bat-angel-dragon" appears out of a star that moved to just within the moon's orbit and lands on Australia, demanding humanity feed it living things or it will take it upon itself to devour cities. Naturally, the Iron Man fights it, but I won't go in to details in order to avoid spoiling his methods and the ending. Hughes's story, like the Cold War setting in the animated adaptation, serves as a message of peace in the face of war. The overall effect is one of a truly enjoyable children's book that, like its later adaptation, will live on as a classic for readers of all ages. ( )

We had this tale read to us at primary school and not long after I borrowed the book to read it myself. Think this would've been in 1985, though could've been a year either way.

I remember thinking it was cool when the Iron Man fell of a cliff, smashed to pieces, yet managed to reassemble himself.

Also remember him being tricked into a tight spot by humans who later seek his help when the space dragon (believe that this is one of several alternate choices for the creature's name) lands on Earth.

Whether or not "The Iron Man" would appeal to me as an adult I can't say, but it feels appropriate to rate the book five stars considering that I borrowed it after the teacher had read it to my class. ( )

One of my favorite animated films is The Iron Giant so when I discovered that it was based off of a book by the same name...well I had to read it didn't I? Ted Hughes, late poet laureate, created something truly special with this book. It's incredibly short (79 pages to be exact) but so much is crammed within those pages that it spoke more to me than some books three times that length. It is the tale of an Iron Giant/Man who arrives in a small town and begins wreaking havoc among the farmers by eating all of their metal machinery. At first, the farmers believe he is a monster and they trap him in a pit. However, when he escapes a little boy named Hogarth speaks upon the Iron Giant's behalf and comes up with a compromise. For a time, there is peace. And then (here's where the movie deviates) a creature born from a star lands on Australia. This creature is gigantic and shaped like a dragon and it demands to be fed living things. The people of earth decide to go to war against this creature instead. (Remember this is a "children's" book and it has already tackled prejudice (the farmers against the Iron Giant) and now it's taking human beings predilection for warfare head-on.) The weapons unleashed are unparalleled in their ferocity and yet the creature only smiles. It delivers an ultimatum and the people of earth are terrified. Once again, Hogarth (and yet just like a children's book to put the power in the hands of a child) has an idea. He asks the Iron Giant for help. A challenge of strength is issued which the dragon creature accepts.

I don't want to give away the ending. In fact, I feel slightly bad having said as much as I already have. I do hope you'll check this book out. It's worth your time (it took me no time at all to read it), I promise. It's lauded as an exceptionally brilliant read for a reason. There is so much to be gleaned from the story. ( )