The Snowman

A young boy and his wintertime friend share a magical night of friendship, fun, and flying in this award-winning, wordless story.

Children's Literature

This classic book has been reissued in board book form. It is a wordless story about a boy who builds a snowman and has a series of adventures with his new friend. There is a lot of information packed into the images and toddlers as well as older kids can appreciate the book. For the young ones, parents and caregivers will probably supply their own words to accompany the illustrations. The ending may be the most difficult for young children to accept and understand. Also the sequence of adventures is more akin to a dream than reality. Much as I like the story, I really don't think it works for the young board book audience. Part of the "Bright and Early Board Books" series. 2000, Random House,

Raymond Briggs was born in London in 1934.  At the age of 15, he  went to Wimbeldon Art School to learn how to draw, as he wanted to become a cartoonist.  But there he was told that cartooning was not a profession for gentlemen and that he ought to be a painter.  Raymond then went on to the Slade School in London to study painting as a full-time student.  During his spare time, he began work on a portfolio of illustrations of all kinds, including jackets and a wide selection of drawings to take to publishers.  After illustrating for advertising, newspapers and books, Raymond discovered that book illustration inspired him the most, since it offered far greater variety and freedom than anything else.  Raymond has always found it unfavorable to sustain a consistent illustration style for a long period of time.  He is always seeking to try something else new and different with his work.  Some of Raymond's best known works are The Snowman , The Man , and The Bear .  The setting for The Snowman is based on Raymond's own house and garden, which is in Sussex, England at the foot of South Downs, a few miles from Brighton.