Rose Tremain was inspired to write this story for her grandson and it is a fun (and slightly odd?) tale about a young boy called Oliver and a metal bird he finds in a field.

Oliver loves birds but he can never get close to them - they always fly away. So when he stumbles across a robin made of iron, he thinks this is the answer - it's a bird he can keep close at all times. 

It's strange that he finds this so interesting when he also has a pet (toy) dragon. 

Of course the robin (like the dragon) comes to life and Oliver wants to show him off to everybody. They all take it in their stride of course, including his mother who's called Jane, not Mum, throughout.

But at school the robin disappears. Oliver's sadness is soon overcome, however, when the robin comes to the rescue in a potentially hazardous situation. It's a sweet story with cheery illustrations.