The Snowman
"The Snowman," created by Raymond Briggs, is a beloved wordless picture book first published in 1978 in the UK. The story follows a young boy who, after seeing fresh snow, creates a snowman that miraculously comes to life. Their enchanting adventure includes playful exploration of the boy's home and a magical flight over the snowy landscape. The narrative captures themes of childhood innocence, imagination, fantasy, and the poignant reality of loss, particularly as the story concludes with the boy discovering the melted remains of his snowman.
Artistically, "The Snowman" features soft pastel illustrations, with each frame carefully crafted to convey emotion and progression without words. This unique approach has helped elevate the status of picture books and comics in the UK, making Briggs a pioneering figure in the genre. The book's impact extends beyond its pages, inspiring stage adaptations, merchandise, and translations into over twenty languages, solidifying its position in popular culture. As a timeless tale, "The Snowman" resonates with audiences of all ages, celebrating the joys and fleeting moments of childhood.
The Snowman
AUTHOR: Briggs, Raymond
ARTIST: Raymond Briggs (illustrator)
PUBLISHER: Random House
FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1978
Publication History
The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs, was originally published in hardcover in Great Britain by Hamish Hamilton in 1978. The book’s first U.S. printing was through Random House Children’s Books. In 1985, Hamish Hamilton sold the rights to Penguin Books, which was interested in its mass-marketing potential. However, Random House remains the sole U.S. publisher. In 1980, Snowman Enterprises Ltd. was formed to control the merchandising for products based on the book. The book has sold more than two million copies in the United Kingdom and the United States combined and has been published in more than twenty countries.
In 1977, Briggs released the graphic novel Fungus the Bogeyman, which incorporated lengthy passages of prose text mixed among the panels. After its publication, the book received a great deal of criticism for its gory and explicitly detailed life of a bogeyman that lives in a slimy, filthy underground dwelling. During the writing and release of Fungus, Briggs had also maintained a file of ideas for what would become The Snowman, and then one morning when he discovered it had snowed the night before, Briggs decided that it was a good time to begin work on a new project. He also felt the need to create a clean and pleasant work, especially after the negative reception that Fungus had received.
Plot
When a boy wakes one morning, looks out his window, and discovers that snow is falling, he decides to get dressed and run outside to play. He rolls a ball of snow and packs snow on top of it to build a large mound. After a quick retreat inside, he returns to continue work on his creation. He shows his mother what he has made and then places a hat and scarf on the snowman, finishing it off with a tangerine for the nose and coal for the eyes and the buttons.
That evening, the boy spends time with his parents, but he keeps looking out the window at his snowman. After going to bed, he wakes in the middle of the night, runs to the window, and looks at his snowman. He grabs his robe, goes outside, and is greeted by the snowman who has come alive and tips his hat. The two shake hands, and the boy invites the snowman inside. The boy shows the snowman around the living room and kitchen and teaches the snowman about household electronics and appliances.
After a snack of ice cubes, the boy leads the snowman upstairs. They sneak into the boy’s parents’ room, where the snowman tries on some clothing, and then they go to the boy’s room where they play with his toys.
The boy leads the snowman downstairs to the garage, and they play in the family car. Then the snowman retreats to the freezer and lies down to cool off. As the snowman gets out of the freezer, the boy takes out some frozen food and prepares a candlelight meal in the kitchen.
Having had enough of being inside, the snowman leads the boy outside. They start to run, then take off into flight. High in the snowy sky, they fly over a meadow, above the city skyline, and land at the end of a pier. Seeing that the sun is rising, the snowman grabs the boy’s hand, and they take flight again and land in the front garden of the boy’s home. The snowman leads the boy to the front door, and they hug and wave good-bye. The snowman returns to his original stance in the yard.
The boy retreats to his bedroom, looks out the window at the snowman, and then gets into bed. When he wakes the next morning, he runs down the stairs, past his parents in the kitchen, and out the door; he finds that the snowman has melted and is now a small heap of snow. The hat and scarf are on top of the snow with pieces of coal nearby.
Characters
•Young Boy (a.k.a. James in later versions of the book and in film and stage productions) is the protagonist of the story. He appears to be six or seven years old and has reddish hair and is the only child in the family. He is excited to see newly fallen snow, and he runs out to the front yard to construct a snowman. He is consistently fascinated with the snowman throughout the novel.
•Mother is usually seen around the house wearing her apron. She takes care of her son’s everyday needs by feeding and dressing him and tucking him into bed at night. When the novel was written in the 1970’s, this was considered the traditional role for a mother, and it would have been usual for her to stay at home during the day cleaning the house, cooking, and taking care of the emotional and physical needs of her children. She enjoys watching her son play and encourages his use of imagination.
•Father is seen only a few times throughout the story. He plays what was then the stereotypical fatherly role of being the family provider and head of household. Each time he appears in the story, he is spending time with his wife.
•Snowman is the robust, friendly snowman that the boy creates. His larger-than-life body has sculpted arms and legs. He wears a green hat and a scarf and has a tangerine for a nose and black coal for eyes and buttons. He comes to life in the middle of the night as a playful, intriguing, and adventurous friend to the young boy.
Artistic Style
The Snowman is completely wordless and is comprised of neatly arranged frames that are square- and rectangle-shaped with rounded edges. Muted shades of pastels give the book a light, soft quality, while the air and the snow are presented in hazy softness. When the story climaxes with the flight over city lights, the colors darken, signifying the night sky.
Briggs felt that pencil drawings with ink would introduce harshness to the book and would take away from the freshness of the snowman, giving the drawings a rough look. Instead, Briggs used soft pencil crayons to illustrate the book. Using this medium, the color tends to grow into the pictures and lends softness to the images.
While there are no text blocks or speech bubbles in the book, each frame imparts just enough information to further the story. The frames are a variety of sizes, and the panels tend to increase in size with the intensity of the storyline, which also serves to advance the pacing of the story. When the story climaxes, a single frame covers a full page. As the story comes to a close, the panel sizes decrease. The story concludes with a single square frame, surrounded with white space.
Themes
Childhood excitement, innocence, and imagination are major themes of the book. When the boy first sees that snow has fallen, he cannot wait to go outside and play; he dresses quickly and runs out the door. He uses his imagination to build the snowman, and he works meticulously to make the shape by carving arms and legs into the snow.
After the snowman is built, the boy becomes preoccupied with it. For the rest of the day and into the night, he returns to look at the snowman. After being tucked into bed, he abruptly wakes in the middle of the night and runs to look out the window.
The relationship between the boy and the snowman is unique. The snowman is the size of an adult and to a certain extent guides the boy as an adult would, but the snowman is also playful and curious like a child. The two friends learn from each other’s worlds. They have fun playing with everyday objects and use their imaginations to create new games.
The Snowman is also thematically driven around fantasy. Common fantasy themes are prevalent such as when the inanimate snowman comes to life, becomes a companion for the boy, and then flies the boy through the night sky on a wonderful adventure.
A final theme in the book is loss. On the last page of the book the single frame shows the boy with his back to readers looking down at his melted snowman. This image is left open to interpretation. Most readers would believe the boy to be disappointed or perhaps heartbroken that his friend is gone. Its realism is a life lesson, however: All relationships end at some point. There cannot be life without death.
Impact
Comics were not as readily accepted as an art form in the United Kingdom as they were in other European countries when The Snowman was first published in the late 1970’s. The term comics had negative connotations because sequential art was not valued in the same manner that fine art was. However, with the commercial success of The Snowman, Briggs broke boundaries by expanding picture-book illustration to now include sequential art and wordless text, which then helped shape the artistic styles of such British illustrators as Shirley Hughes, Jan Ormerod, Peter Collington, Posy Simmonds, Philippe Dupasquier, John Prater, and Colin McNaughton.
In 2005, Briggs was inaugurated into Britain’s Royal Society of Literature and is recognized as one of the country’s most respected graphic novelists and as a pioneer in the comics art form. Comics and graphic novels have increasingly garnered respect in the United Kingdom, and publishers are releasing more titles each year.
Variations of the original title were published from 1985 to 1999, including board books, story books with text, and numerous novelty titles. Activity books and a CD-ROM based on the book were also released. The snowman character has also been transformed into many collectibles and toys as well as stationary, clothing, kitchenware, household goods, and bedding.
A stage musical production of The Snowman by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre premiered in London’s West End in 1993 and has been performed every Christmas since. The troupe has also toured England, Japan, and the United States.
Films
The Snowman. Directed by Dianne Jackson and Jimmy T. Murakami. Snowman Enterprises/TVC London, 1982. This unrated film adaptation was originally made for television. The film begins with a short introduction by Briggs. David Bowie acts as the narrator in a re-released version, and the song “Walking in the Air,” sung by Peter Auty, is featured in the original film and became a top-ten record in the United Kingdom. While the film maintains the pastel colorings of the book and follows the majority of the plot, it includes a number of omissions and some major additions. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1982.
Further Reading
Briggs, Raymond. The Bear (1994).
‗‗‗‗‗‗. Father Christmas (1973).
Tan, Shaun. The Arrival (2007).
Bibliography
Briggs, Raymond. “Big Kid, ‘Old Git,’ and Still in the Rudest of Health.” Interview by Rachel Cooke. The Observer (August 9, 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/aug/10/booksforchildrenand teenagers.
Irvine, Louise. The Snowman Collector’s Book. Somerset, England: Richard Dennis, 2004.
Jones, Nicolette. Raymond Briggs: Blooming Books. London: Jonathan Cape, 2003.