The Iron Man

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, show more 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. show less

You know how they say that adults can't see fairies, but kids can? That adults outgrow that magic ability? I think this book is a bit like that, referring to the storyline, anyway. What it does offer for adults are its poetic rhythms and a general sense of suspend-your-disbelief type wonder. It would be great fun to read aloud to a wide-eyed innocent.

Hm. Perhaps I do feel a twinge of fairy dust magic tingles.

British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes’s classic novella The Iron Giant has seen a lot of changes and adaptations over the years. It was originally titled The Iron Man: A Children’s Story in Five Nights, but that was changed in the 1968 American version to avoid confusion with the comic book Iron Man. Fans of Brad Bird’s (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) 1999 film version may initially be put off by the difference between the stories; gone are the Cold War allegories and the development of friendship between young boy Hogarth and the titular giant that made the movie version so poignant. They will likely also be confused by the cover photo, which matches the animation style of the movie. Within the novel, however, are illustrations by show more Andrew Davidson, who first contributed to the book in 1985. Still, readers should enjoy the wonder and fantasy of the tale and will likely root for the Iron Giant to triumph regardless.
Hughes’s story focuses on the giant, whose appearance matches his name and who begins his journey by stumbling, crashing, falling to pieces and reassembling himself all within the first chapter. After literally pulling himself together, he inadvertently terrorizes a small British town by munching away on all their metal: barbed wire fences and farm equipment alike. Eventually the townspeople find peace with the giant and give him a way to quench his hunger for metal, but soon this is interrupted by the appearance of a giant--even more giant than the Iron Giant--dragon from outer space. The dragon is set on world-wide destruction and consumption, and only the Iron Giant can save the people of Earth from this evil.
The text of The Iron Giant is simplistic and accessible for children just transitioning to reading chapter books. It is a modern fairy tale at it’s finest, simultaneously highly imaginative and yet very familiar. show less

First let me say that I will not accept this as SF. It's a great story, a parable, a fable, a fantasy... but SF would keep track of relative sizes at the very least! And what about all that consumption; where is the matter going?

Second, I coulda sworn that I read it before. I know I enjoyed the movie. And of course the movie is very different (though also quite good). But I thought I read the story, and yet almost nothing rings a bell.

In any case, this oversized, artistically designed edition gives the story great metaphysical & poetic weight & import, as one would expect from the poet Hughes even in his prose. I don't particularly care for this kind of art, speaking for myself, but here it's both effective and appropriate.

Highly show more recommended. show less

Well, this was certainly a pleasant surprise. I found this loverly illustrated gift edition at my local Indie the other evening, and I'm a huge fan of the film version directed by Brad Bird that was released several years ago so I thought I'd pick this edition up. While there are some significant changes from the book to the film (instead of saving a small town from an atomic bomb as seen in the movie, the Iron Giant helps save the Earth from a large space-dragon), the message of peace is still essentially the same. I can understand why Brad Bird made the changes to the movie that he did, as I don't think this version of the story would have translated well to film, but I like the story that Ted Hughes tells just as much. Taken on their show more own, each version of this story is excellent. show less

Hughes, T. (1968). The Iron giant. New York: Harper Row.
Grades 3 through 5

An iron giant arrives on Earth to cause havoc among a small English village. After a rough beginning, the mysterious visitor and the villagers develop a peaceful relationship mainly due to the intervention of Hogarth, a boy who concocts a plan to save village from the giant. He gives the metal creature access to the scrap yard, satiating his enormous appetite. Then, a mysterious celestial body approaches Earth, giving birth to a black dragon the size of Australia. The dragon threatens to destroy Earth if his demands for food are not met. Hogarth asks for the iron giant’s help, and his witty plan helps him beat the dragon. The iron giant becomes a hero, and the show more dragon fulfill his true calling—making music that turns humans from war-hungry people to loving, peaceful creatures.

The Iron giant is a strange and whimsical story. The reader never learns the origin or motivation of the iron giant. There is no explanation to justify his existence or why the audience should accept him. The plot is also strange—a dragon born from a star come to threaten Earth, and the iron giant must intervene to save humanity. Somehow, as the story goes by, readers move past all the unanswered questions to enjoy a story about acceptance, wit, and forgiveness. The book has an odd but effective anti-war message, and the characters conquer the audience by the end of the story. Zimmer’s black-and-white illustrations are a beautiful complement to this strangely warm tale. show less

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 show more 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. show less