Astro Boy (Pocket Jeunesse books)

The Astro Boy series was a reimagining of the 2003 anime, written by Gilles Legardinier for the French publishing company Pocket Jeunesse. The series ran for six books from 2005 to 2006. The books were licensed by Sony Pictures Entertainment for an exclusive run in France and Quebec.

Series
Metro City is a sprawling metropolitan city in the future, filled with modern technology and industry. Professor O'Shay is a chief scientist in the city's leading research centre. Upon finding a deactivated child robot, O'Shay reactivates the boy and renames him Astro Boy. Astro very quickly proves to be extremely powerful and advanced, but with the personality of a young boy, and O'Shay adopts him as his surrogate son. Soon, O'Shay builds Astro a super-powered younger sister, Zoran, and together the children become the darlings and cream of technology for the research centre.

The books primarily adapt names and characters from the 2003 anime, but with extra embellishment. O'Shay is Astro and Zoran's adoptive father, Yuko is an aunt figure to the children, the Ministry of Science is now a non-government facility, Dr. Tenma is living in a secretive underground lab, and Metro City is now a multicultural Francophone city. New characters include various research centre employees, and the Lord of Darkness, a disfigured robotic-suited crime lord in a mask.

Books
The series ran for six self-contained stories from September 2005 to March 2006. They were printed as slim novella-style books in Pocket Jeunesse's Pocket Junior line, which was for children aged 7 and up.
 * 1) Première mission, ISBN 2-266-15340-4
 * 2) Le piège diabolique, ISBN 2-266-15445-1
 * 3) Le secret d'Astro Boy, ISBN 2-266-15626-8
 * 4) Astro Boy contre Astro Boy, ISBN 2-266-15627-6
 * 5) Le train de la peur, ISBN 2-266-15951-8
 * 6) Un drȯle d'espion, ISBN 2-266-15952-6