Andy Buckram's Tin Men

by Carol Ryrie Brink, W.T. Mars (Illustrator)

Andy Buckram's Tin Men Hardcover – March 20, 1966 by Carol Ryrie Brink (Author), W. T. Mars (Illustrator) Empty cans can be useful in a number of ways. They are good for holding worms when you go fishing, and the large ones are fine for bailing a leaky boat. But even more interesting are the many mechanical things that a clever boy can build out of cans. Andy had made doorstoppers out of cans full of sand. He had made cowbells out of cans, with clappers which he fashioned from jointed wire and small stones. Then Andy read about a boy in California who built seven robots, one of them six feet, ten inches tall. It is not easy to build a robot, and only very clever boys should try it. But if the boy in California could do it, why in the world should not Andy Buckram do it too? The answer, of course, is that Andy did.

Genres: Science Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Robots, Adventure, Kids

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 20, 1966

About the author

Born Caroline Ryrie, American author of over 30 juvenile and adult books. Her novel Caddie Woodlawn won the 1936 Newbery Medal.

Brink was orphaned by age 8 and raised by her maternal grandmother, the model for Caddie Woodlawn. She started writing for her school newspapers and continued that in college. She attended the University of Idaho for three years before transferring to the University of California in 1917, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1918, the same year she married.

Anything Can Happen on the River, Brink's first novel, was published in 1934. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Idaho in 1965. Brink Hall, which houses the UI English Department and faculty offices, is named in her honor. The children's section of the Moscow, ID Carnegie public library is also named after her.

Reviews

[Dave Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

See here's the thing...many people can't point back to a single pivotal book from their childhood that changed them. I'm lucky enough to have that. This book entranced me with possibilities at a very young age. It made me think that anything was doable if you worked hard enough and could take advantage of the luck that came your way. I must have read it 20 times. It's a simple story, some may say too simple, but I wanted to be Andy Buckram so desperately that I started making all kinds of things out of cardboard and cans, tape and glue. Other kids had their toys, I made my own. A little wierd maybe, but a great early education in how to take things out of your head and make them with your hands.

I found a used hard-bound second edition on alibris.com about 10 years ago, and read it to my youngest children. They loved it.

Isn't great what books can do?

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot wait until my son can read this book. He will love it so much. A junkyard! A boy who makes robots that really work! Roughing it on an island with robots to help out!

This is like Baby Island for the boys.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just lucked out and picked this up at a library sale for a quarter. Such a fun story. Magical realism meets science fiction. Considering how realistic Caddie Woodlawn is, I was surprised by the fantastic element of the tin men. Really fun story. Looking forward to sharing it with my kids.

[Sarah Grace Grzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was younger! I just wish it wasn't out of print and so hard to find. :(

[legros · Rating 4 out of 5]

a childhood favorite. a fantastic story about a kid from a small town who makes robots out of scraps.

[Juanita Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was very young and never forgot it. Favorite book of all time!

[Robin Hillyer-Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about 12 year old Andy who lives on a farm but would rather spend his time making things, particularly tin robots. One robot leads to many as Andy improves on his ideas and what he wants from each robot. Along with Andy in the story we have 11 1/2 year old Sparrow and her tinkering grandfather, and Andy's cousin's 2 year old daughter Dot. This adventure story is likely to appeal to both boys and girls and especially those who like to tinker and build useful things. When an overwhelming flood comes Andy’s robots come to the rescue in unexpected ways. The second half of this reminded me of Baby Island but this story definitely stands on its own and was an enjoyable read.

"The robots don't understand being angry any more than they understand being joyful, Andy," said Sparrow reasonably. "You have to remember that and set a good example for them." pg 138

A lot of using "goodness' sake" (pgs 44, 46, 69, 102), pg 77 "I declare to goodness, I've had enough of robots to last me the rest of my life." pg 132 "Goodness knows, I've done enough for those hens in my life." a few mentions of stupid (pgs 114, 148), one robot is repeatedly described as fat (pgs 49, 68, 74, 93), starting on pg 116 talk of making a wickiup and pg 169 "how to dance like Indians around a council fire."

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, simple tale of invention and adventure. I remember this book and loved reading it again. Too bad it's so hard to find a copy or I would add it to my library.
Excellent read for a young adult, but too lengthy as a childrens' book.

[Lisa Scott]

Where can I find this book online so I can read this to my grandchildren

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my first books after the "Golden Book Years". Lots of fun...

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited we could finally get this from a neighboring library district! I’m a huge Carol Ryrie Brink fan and this story sounded absolutely perfect for my elementary-aged boys who love inventing things and crave adventure stories of kids who have to make a go of things on their own while the grown-ups are safely out of the way. Maybe I’d just built my expectations up too much but I was a little disappointed. The characters just didn’t feel as real and vibrant as I’m used to from this talented author and the plot didn’t take off in quite the way I’d hoped. It all felt a little, dare I say, robotic. But, I’m not the target audience. I asked my boys what they thought and they said it was okay but they weren’t particularly enthusiastic about it (nor did they ask if it was a series – usually if a book is loved they ask if there are any more to come!) Maybe if I’d read it to them a few years ago when we were first venturing into longer chapter books they would have been more enchanted by it; I think they have read too many other books in recent years with characters that really feel like they could walk out of the pages and become your best friends or with thrilling adventures where you just want to jump into the pages and live it yourself! Lots of other readers loved this so don’t take my word for it if the premise appeals.

[Florence Stapleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a classroom teacher I read this book to several 5th and 6th grade classes in the 70’s and early 80’s- a simpler time. But it is so well written and a story that draws you in with creativity, warmth and humor. The girls enjoyed it as much as the boys. Trying to find a copy, and those I have located are so expensive. Wish I had held on to mine so I could share it with my grandsons. A classic by a wonderful author.

[Ryan Esmay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely cherish this book. It's one of the first I ever read and truly loved. It incited my imagination in such a magical, childlike way.

When I was probably 8 or 9, I left my dad's copy of this book outside where I'd been reading it, and it got ruined in a rainstorm. To this day I feel incredibly guilty about that... What was I thinking?

Here's to you, Andy.

[HL]

This is a magical, memorable book. My favorite! As a child, I wanted to be Andy the inventor & adventurer. Never stop dreaming. Just as now, in my 60's, I want to be Dirk Pitt, an adventurer in some of Clive Cussler's books.

[Hanna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it’s a pretty solid concept but the story and characters feel pretty dated and often times comes off a little sexist (ironic since the writer is a woman). That being said it’s a cute story but it often feels empty from time to time

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent young boy book!

[Michelle Thiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those fun childhood books that I still remember 40 years later....

[Jennifer Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carol Ryrie Brink is just the best. This book made me laugh, and I just know all my kids will love it.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+ fiction, children's fiction, upper elementary; boy builds robots and has adventures; from stash, keep

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book I substituted in at the end of 2021 in order to meet my insane goal of 100 books for the year. No regrets. I read this book a couple times as a child and then had the pleasure of reading it to my children. Andy Buckram is a clever fellow who’d much rather read his Popular Mechanics magazines than caulk the boat his dad keeps asking him to do over the summer. When he stops by the local junk man’s place, he gets inspired to start making robots from empty food cans. The first one, Campbell, is small and babyish, much to Andy’s dismay. He wants his robots to be manly men! So he goes on to create Bucket, Supercan and Lilly, all of which have their own unique purposes and abilities. As summer wanes, Andy has to store his Tin Men in the abandoned turkey shed at the top of the hill. When successive rainy days turns into a flood, Andy realizes that he must save his men, but on the way to the shed, it is hit by lightning. And guess what? Somehow this lightning strike energizes the robots, bringing them to life. When Andy, Sparrow (the junk man’s daughter), Dot (Andy’s bane, the little girl he often has to babysit) and the robots get stuck on an island in the flood, they must figure out how to survive. I’ve already said too much - just go and read it.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Great Frogs and Catfish!"

I can't remember when I first read "Andy Buckram's Tin Men"—it was "After Caddie Woodlawn" and I was apprehensive when my elementary school librarian put this book into my hands because it was a boy's book and about robots. But this book has stuck into my member for probably two decades at this point and I have been searching and searching and searching for a copy of it to the point where I look for it in every single used bookstore I can find, to the indulgent amusement of my wife. I've searched online and can't find a decent copy for less than $30.

Lo and behold—the local library had a copy! Duh. Libraries are awesome. So I immediately checked it out and read it aloud to the wife (long distance marriages are a bitch so we read books to each other) and my rosy-tinted childhood memories of how awesome it was were totally still spot on. Some things are a tiny, small amount outdated, but the rest of the book holds true—tin men, inventive boys, farm life, babysitting bratty children, spunky girls, and coming of age tales.

Now that it's over, I have to make a truly life-changing decision—do I remain true to my library-loving morales and return it to the library, or keep it forever and always?

If you've got kids, this book is just fantastic. If you're an adult, this book is still fantastic. READ IT. And then give it to your used bookstore so I can find it.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a kid.
Young Andy is good with tools.
Using old cans, buckets, scrap metal and whatever other odds and ends he can find, Andy builds a quartet of robots to help with his chores.

After being struck by lightening the robots start thinking and acting for themselves.
Which is a big help when a storm and a flood separates Andy, his little sister and a friend from their parents and they have to fend for themselves for a couple days.

A fun adventure romp.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s definitely a book of the era it was written in, women are made to be lower then men. That aside this is a wonderful book about a boy who at the end seems to have grown and realize that life is full of change. Working my way slowly through Gretchen Rubins Children’s and Young Adult Favorite Masterpieces.

[Leslie]

I found a list of books I read during the summer when I was about 14. This was one of them. I don't remember anything about it, but I read it.

[Jenny Wunrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a fourth grader in 1976.

[Sara Leacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a kid.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite stories.

What I learned from this book:
Goodness matters. Kindness matters. Helping matters. But sometimes, things don't work out the way we want them to.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super weird and certainly a product of its era—yet if I were a 12-year-old boy in 1966 I would love this sucker to DEATH.