The Iron Giant - by Ted Hughes (Paperback)

About the Book

The fearsome iron giant becomes a hero when he challenges a huge space monster. This paperback edition of poet laureate Ted Hughes' classic children's novel is timed with the release of an animated feature film from Warner Brothers, set to hit theaters during the 1999 holiday season. Illustrations throughout.

Book Synopsis

An iron giant saves the world in this contemporary classic.

A mysterious creature stalks the land, eating barbed wire and devouring tractors and plows. The farmers are mystified--and terrified. And then they glimpse him in the night: the Iron Giant, taller than a house, with glowing headlight eyes and an insatiable taste for metal. The hungry giant must be stopped at any cost.

Only a young boy named Hogarth is brave enough to lead the Iron Giant to a safe home. And only Hogarth knows where to turn when a space-bat as big as Australia, hungry for every living thing on Earth, darkens the sky.

First published in 1968, Ted Hughes's classic tale is a powerful tribute to peace on earth--and in all the universe. Of it Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "How grateful we should be for Ted Hughes's brilliant The Iron Giant. It speaks to all ages, and we need its message even more now." Philip Pullman called it "so gripping that when you begin to read it aloud, everyone stops to listen, young children and old people alike." Whether you think of it as a science fiction fantasy or a modern fairy tale or a tall-tale parable for today, you will never forget it.

Review Quotes

"A tall-tale hero in a parable for today. The author's intensely felt theme and his invention of dramatic details make this brief piece of fiction high-spirited and entertaining."
--The Horn Book

"A clever, inventive fantasy of timely appeal to children."
--Booklist

"Written with such great gusto, with such vivid precision, that children will sit spellbound in their ringside seats."
--Publishers Weekly

"A great book to start up a family reading tradition. Irresistible."
--Boston Phoenix

"Reckoned one of the greatest of modern fairy tales."
--The Observer (England)

"A thrilling and unforgettable tale, magnificently told."
--Trade News (England)

"Hughes has never written more compellingly...with linguistic tact and imaginative power to achieve something of possible enduring consequence."
--The Times (England)

"Riveting."
--The Tablet (England)

"Brilliant."
--The Listener (England)

About the Author

Ted Hughes, late poet laureate of England, was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, in 1930. After attending Cambridge University, he went on to become a well-known poet, novelist, and essayist with dozens of books to his credit. His last work, Birthday Letters, a poetry collection chronicling his relationship with American poet Sylvia Plath, was published shortly before his death in 1998 at the age of 68.