Mr. Watt (Grumpy Man of Metal) and the Lost Factories

Mr. Watt, the Grumpy Man of Metal, has lost his sparkle, his inspiration for making things. It's run away!  His journey to find it again takes him past the remains of industrial heritage; old factories and potteries, textile mills and locomotive sheds with lots of references to fairy tales and children’s stories that both adults and children will recognise. Fun for all ages, this book has an interactive voice-over button to help your child read along if they want to. There is also an animated version of this book! See the other books by this author for more information.



Mr.Watt's sparkle is a metaphor for the decline of industry and crafts; the fairy tale references remind us of the objects that fascinated us in the stories we read as children.


Mr.Watt lives and makes things in a metal world; the author Jon Mills just makes metal things. An internationally renowned artist metalworker, he cuts, hammers and welds together all of Mr Watt's dreams, props and characters, and uses them to illustrate this and other stories.