The Snowman: Inspired by the original story by Raymond Briggs

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When James wakes early on Christmas Eve to discover it had snowed overnight, he’s so excited that he goes out and builds a snowman. He spends all day building him and showing him off to his parents and his grandma, who is staying over Christmas. When he goes to bed that night, waiting for Father Christmas, he wonders about his snowman and, when he looks out of the window, he discovers that his snowman has come to life… A short read, the illustrations are nicely designed to look a lot like Raymond Briggs' own, it will be a popular read in schools and homes among the age 8-11 age range. Raymond illustrated a book of nursery rhymes, The Mother Goose Treasury, in 1966 for which he won the Kate Greenaway medal. Since then, he has produced a treasure trove of work, becoming one of the most innovative and popular author-illustrators of our time. His books include Father Christmas (1973), Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (1975), Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), The Snowman (1978), When the Wind Blows (1982) and The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984). These books, amongst countless others, have been translated into many languages and adapted into films, plays and animations for television. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original short and of Channel 4, a 25-minute special titled The Snowman and the Snowdog aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 2012. [18] Produced at the London-based animation company Lupus Films, [19] with many of the original team returning, the sequel was made in the same traditional techniques as the first film, and features the Snowman, a new young boy named Billy and a snow dog flying over landmarks and going to another party. [20] Che dire di questa storia.. È stata un'avventura stupenda.. Un libro che tutti i bambini ameranno follemente. La lettura è rapida e le illustrazioni che accompagnano tutto la storia sono un dettaglio stupendo per questo piccolo gioiellino.

Morpurgo is a name I usually read when I see a new book by him, I've enjoyed many of his reimagined fairy tales in recent years, so I was happy to try this. This is not a review. How can one review a book like The Snowman, a story without words? It has to be experienced, that’s all, experienced through the eyes of a child. What follows is my own experience, my appreciation of a story that gave me so much pleasure over so many years.Andrew, we are in September. Why on earth are you reading a Christmas novella? And a retelling of a well known Christmas classic? have you COMPLETELY lost the plot? Being a wordless book (not good for storytimes!!!) and with the illustrations having a bit of a fuzzy crayon look to them, I may have misread some of the pictures. Was the snowman laughing at the boy's picture and the boy was upset? Why does the boy look mad about the snowman getting near the heating vent--shouldn't he look concerned? Why doesn't the snowman like the flowers picture? Is it because that's in spring and he doesn't ever get to see such a thing. And is he upset or angry about that?

The Snowman was re-released in 2002 as a DVD special edition and again as a DVD and Blu-ray 30th anniversary edition in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2012 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment UK. The 2002 special edition peaked at No.3 in the video charts. The 2012 home video release includes four extra features: a "Snow Business" documentary, Christmas Eve" ( Noch pered Rozhdestvom, 1832) by Nikolai Gogol (from Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka)The Snowman was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1978 as a wordless picture book and it has gone on to sell over 5.5m copies in various formats around the world. Producer John Coates created an animated version of The Snowman for Channel 4, it was first broadcast on Boxing Day 1982 in Channel 4’s inaugural year and has been shown every Christmas since. Ok, let’s make something perfectly clear: nothing will beat Raymond Briggs’s classic. Not the Channel 4 film, not its sequel (which is still wonderful), not the stage production, nothing. Raymond’s wordless story is a beautiful, yet bittersweet masterpiece.

Interviews with Peter Auty, Aled Jones, Raymond Briggs and John Coates on the making of documentary titled "Snow Business" included on the 2002 20th Anniversary DVD This is such a lovely, magical book and I would have loved to have had this when I was a child. It’s always a bit of a worry when someone writes a variant of an old favourite but Morpurgo has been so respectful of the original story and this stands alongside it as an extra Snowman story that is just as wonderful. I definitely recommend this! The story was expanded to fill 26 minutes and include a longer flying sequence which takes the boy to the North Pole and a party with Father Christmas which is not present in the picture book. The animators also brought in personal touches – a static sequence with a car is replaced by a motorcycle ride, as one of the animators was a keen motorcyclist and it was noted by Iain Harvey that this sequence kept "the action flowing after all the fun and comedy of the boy and the Snowman exploring the house and forming a friendship – and what could be better than a midnight run in a snowy landscape". [6] Similarly, although the boy in the book is unnamed, in the film he is named "James" on his present tag, added by animator Joanna Harrison as it was the name of her boyfriend (later her husband). [7] [8] Interviewed in 2012, Raymond Briggs recalls that he thought "'It's a bit corny and twee, dragging in Christmas', as The Snowman had nothing to do with that, but it worked extremely well." [9] The boy's home appears to be located in the South Downs of England, near to Brighton; he and the snowman fly over the Royal Pavilion and Palace Pier. Raymond Briggs had lived in Sussex since 1961, and the composer Howard Blake was also a native of the county. [2] [10] Music [ edit ] The Snowman was originally released on VHS in 1982 by Palace Video. It has been re-released several times by Palace and later PolyGram Video, and Universal Studios Home Entertainment UK after Palace went out of business.I was reminded recently of Heidi, a book for children and those who love children by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. I was particularly fond of the story of Heidi and her grandfather because I had a very close relationship with my own grandfather, my father’s father, with whom I used to stay when my parents were away on lengthy business trips. It was my grandfather who introduced me to the Snowman. Le Père Martin" (1888) by Ruben Saillens and unwittingly plagiarized as " Papa Panov's Special Christmas" by Leo Tolstoy The Snowman story is very similar to the original picture book with a young boy excitedly playing out in the snow and building a snowman. Then he wakes in the night and finds the snowman has come to life, and off they go on an adventure after exploring the boy’s house. It’s not just the picture book in words though, this book references the original The Snowman as it’s James’ favourite book and some of what the two get up to together are a little different.

I don’t remember when exactly. I must have been, oh, about four years old. It was before I went to school anyway. It was near Christmas, that much I do remember. The Snowman in question is a story book, pictures without words by Raymond Briggs, another book for children and those who love children. Like Heidi it tells of a bond, this time between a little boy and the snowman he builds one wintry afternoon in his garden. By magic it comes to life; by magic the boy and the snowman fly. Raymond was unique. He has inspired generations of creators of picture books, graphic novels, and animations. He leaves an extraordinary legacy, and a big hole.” The Bear – another book by Raymond Briggs which was also adapted into a 26-minute animated version and like this film was conveyed through music and action. Michael Morpurgo has written over 120 books, many of them award-winning. His best-known work, War Horse, was adapted into a multi-Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg and into a widely acclaimed play. In 2003 Michael became the third Children's Laureate, a position he helped to create with the poet Ted Hughes. With his wife Clare, he set up the charity Farms for City Children, and for their pioneering work they were both awarded the MBE in 1999. In 2017 he was awarded a knighthood for services to literature and charity. Kate Greenaway Medal". Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University . Retrieved 18 July 2012.

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Raymond’s beloved parents Ethel and Ernest adored him, and were a huge inspiration for Raymond throughout his life – informing the stories of Father Christmas (with his father’s anti-social hours as a milkman are reflected in Father Christmas’s work) and When the Wind Blows – as well the story of their lives: Ethel & Ernest (1998). This graphic novel tells the story of how his father, a milkman, met his mother, a lady’s maid, and how they lived together in the same house for forty-one years. An animated feature film based on the novel was released in 2016. To celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, Channel 4 created an alternative opening directed by Roger Mainwood, with Raymond Briggs's interpretation of Father Christmas recounting how he met James, before giving his own variation on Briggs' monologue (including how the heavy snow left even him unable to fly) as he turns on his TV to watch the film, which the opening segues into. [15] Comedian Mel Smith reprises the role in this opening. This version is also cropped to fit a 16:9 widescreen format. Channel 4 used this opening from 2002 until Mel Smith's death in 2013, after which the Bowie opening was reinstated, which in turn returned the film to its original 4:3 aspect ratio.