The Snowman

The Snowman is a beautiful bittersweet tale about a young boy who looks out of his window one night and sees a snowman come to life. The two embark on a wonderful adventure with a poignant ending. The book was first published in 1978 and was created by talented author Raymond Briggs.

The book is entirely without words and relies on the wonderful images to tell the story. A young boy named James wakes one morning to see that it has snowed overnight and transformed his garden into a winter wonderland. He rushes down and builds a snowman. Later that night James can’t sleep and goes to check on his creation. To his great surprise he finds that the snowman has come to life. The snowman takes him on a flight through the chill night air and they see many sights along the way as they fly over the South Downs and Brighton Pier. After their adventure the boy returns to bed but in the morning he wakes to discover that the sun has come out and his snowman has melted away.

This sad ending has made many children cry so be prepared for some tears if your little one is a sensitive soul. The fact the book tells the story purely through pictures makes it suitable for all ages and it is a great book to sit and flick through with your child so you can answer their questions. Despite the poignant end the book is an enjoyable tale with only positive messages to teach. Children will be thrilled by the prospect of an adventure with a snowman but they can also learn, in a gentle way, that change is inevitable and we will all lose people we love.

The book was very successful and prompted the production of a special animated version for television. In 1982 the 26 minute animation was released and it builds upon the original story showing the snowman taking James to a secret snowman party in the woods and then introducing him to Father Christmas who gives James a scarf. The sad ending is then counter balanced by the fact that James still has the scarf at the end, making his adventure real. The animated version is also completely without words apart from the song Walking in the Air which accompanies their flight.

The animated version is now a staple Christmas program which is shown every year on British television. The book also spawned a stage show which ran for several years. It is a very British book in setting and tone but there is no reason children anywhere can’t get something from it.

Raymond Briggs is a fantastic children’s author and he produced thoughtful works which linger in the memory through the passage of years. His Father Christmas books were lovely, Fungus the Bogeyman was terrifically fun and then The Snowman was the work that made him most famous. He later made the deeply sad When the Wind Blows which is most definitely not for children and all his work is tinged by a certain melancholy mood which makes it closer to real life and more rewarding for developing minds than sugar coated fluff. The Snowman book will make a terrific addition to your child’s library and whatever their age or reading ability this will be accessible for them.