The Brave Little Toaster

The Brave Little Toaster is a 1980 novel by Thomas M. Disch intended for children or as put by Disch, A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances. The story centers on a gang of five household appliances—a Tensor lamp, electric blanket, alarm clock/antique radio, Hoover vacuum cleaner, and Sunbeam toaster—on their quest to find their owner, referred to as the Master.

The story first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (August 1980). Although appearing in a general circulation magazine, the story was written in the style of a children's fable. It was one of the most popular science fiction andfantasy stories of the early 1980s, and was nominated for both a Hugo Award and aNebula Award for Best Novella. It also won a Locus Award, Seiun Award and British SF Association Award. It was later published as a book.

The Brave Little Toaster was well received by critics. Anna Quindlen, writing for The New York Times, called it "a wonderful book for a certain sort of eccentric adult. You know who you are. Buy it for your children; read it yourself," and also suggested that the book lacked a clearly defined audience.

Disch said that he was unable to publish the story as a children's book at first, because publishers thought the concept of talking appliances was too “far-fetched”, even after Disch had sold it to Disney as a film; Doubleday finally published it as part of a five-book contract.

In 1987, the novel was adapted by Disch as an independent animated film. The film contains many differences from the book but is essentially the same story, although the ending differs. In the novel, the appliances trade themselves away to an old ballerina who needs them, while in the movie they are reunited with their former master (named Rob in the movie).

Disch later wrote a sequel, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, in which the Brave Little Toaster and his companions travel to Mars to stop an invasion from hostile appliances who have a colony there. This too was made into a film. There was also a third film in the series, The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, which takes place between the two books, but which was not based directly on a book.