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Raymond Briggs' The Snowman: A Magical Magnetic Play Scene
Simple sentences encourage children to choose shaped magnets from the pack and place them on the magnetic pages to complete each scene. They'll love dressing the snowman in his hat and scarf, adding delightful wintry wildlife or livening up a snowman party with bright balloons. Once they've worked through the spreads, they'll find a surprise giant gatefold which opens from the back of the book for hours of creative play. Each magnet and spread is illustrated in Raymond Briggs' familiar style to delight children and adults alike.
8 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2006
About the author
Raymond Briggs
168 books247 followersRaymond Redvers Briggs was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who had achieved critical and popular success among adults and children. He was best known for his story "The Snowman", which is shown every Christmas on British television in cartoon form and on the stage as a musical.
His first three major works, Father Christmas, Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (both featuring a curmudgeonly Father Christmas who complains incessantly about the "blooming snow"), and Fungus the Bogeyman, were in the form of comics rather than the typical children's-book format of separate text and illustrations. The Snowman (1978) was entirely wordless, and illustrated with only pencil crayons. The Snowman became Briggs' best-known work when in 1982 it was made into an Oscar nominated animated cartoon, that has been shown every year since on British television.
Briggs continued to work in a similar format, but with more adult content, in Gentleman Jim (1980), a sombre look at the working class trials of Jim and Hilda Bloggs, closely based on his parents. When the Wind Blows (1982) confronted the trusting, optimistic Bloggs couple with the horror of nuclear war, and was praised in the British House of Commons for its timeliness and originality. The topic was inspired after Briggs watched a Panorama documentary on nuclear contingency planning, and the dense format of the page was inspired by a Swiss publisher's miniature version of Father Christmas. This book was turned into a two-handed radio play with Peter Sallis in the male lead role, and subsequently an animated film, featuring John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft. The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984) was a scathing denunciation of the Falklands War. However, Briggs continued to produce humour for children, in works such as the Unlucky Wally series and The Bear.
He was recognized as The Children's Author of the Year in 1993 by the British Book Awards. His graphic novel Ethel and Ernest, which portrayed his parents' 41-year marriage, won Best Illustrated Book in the 1999 British Book Awards.
His first three major works, Father Christmas, Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (both featuring a curmudgeonly Father Christmas who complains incessantly about the "blooming snow"), and Fungus the Bogeyman, were in the form of comics rather than the typical children's-book format of separate text and illustrations. The Snowman (1978) was entirely wordless, and illustrated with only pencil crayons. The Snowman became Briggs' best-known work when in 1982 it was made into an Oscar nominated animated cartoon, that has been shown every year since on British television.
Briggs continued to work in a similar format, but with more adult content, in Gentleman Jim (1980), a sombre look at the working class trials of Jim and Hilda Bloggs, closely based on his parents. When the Wind Blows (1982) confronted the trusting, optimistic Bloggs couple with the horror of nuclear war, and was praised in the British House of Commons for its timeliness and originality. The topic was inspired after Briggs watched a Panorama documentary on nuclear contingency planning, and the dense format of the page was inspired by a Swiss publisher's miniature version of Father Christmas. This book was turned into a two-handed radio play with Peter Sallis in the male lead role, and subsequently an animated film, featuring John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft. The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984) was a scathing denunciation of the Falklands War. However, Briggs continued to produce humour for children, in works such as the Unlucky Wally series and The Bear.
He was recognized as The Children's Author of the Year in 1993 by the British Book Awards. His graphic novel Ethel and Ernest, which portrayed his parents' 41-year marriage, won Best Illustrated Book in the 1999 British Book Awards.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 6, 2018
Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman: a Magical Magnetic Play Scene is a lovely activity book for very young children. It is based on the famous strip story, and subsequent short animated film, by Raymond Briggs. Prior knowledge of the story would help, but this is not necessary in order to enjoy the book.
There are eight pages, including one double fold-out spread at the back. The story is told in simple sentences which describe the scene portrayed, and there are questions inviting children to complete the picture. To do this, they must choose shaped magnets from a pack attached to the top of the book, and place them on the magnetic pages. In the first scene, they are asked to dress the snowman in his hat, scarf, and buttons, and these nouns, plus a couple of others about the wildlife, are printed in bold to help them. Another shows James and all the snowmen flying over the Taj Mahal, in a starry night. There are magnets of seagulls, ships, the moon, and of course all the snowmen. In the next picture they must add hats, kilts, and balloons to liven up the snowmen’s party. Once these spreads are completed, there is a surprise giant foldout of a wintry scene, which can be completed any way they like.
On the reverse of this foldout is a complete chart of all the magnets included in the pack, for matching. Children can place the magnets over the top, and read out the name underneath.
This is an excellent book for little ones, and the artwork is in the same style as Raymond Briggs’s original, so would be quite recognisable to children who like the film or book. The pages are, sensibly, made of laminated board. Hours of creative play can be had with this book, but a word of caution ...
The book is just a little larger than an average hardback novel, and slightly landscape format. Therefore the magnets are only a few centimetres across; sometimes just one or two. The book states that it is not suitable for children less than 3 years, and I would suggest that children are supervised at all times when this book is around.
Other than that, it is a delightful book for children and adults alike; perhaps just a special one, to get down from a high shelf to share.
There are eight pages, including one double fold-out spread at the back. The story is told in simple sentences which describe the scene portrayed, and there are questions inviting children to complete the picture. To do this, they must choose shaped magnets from a pack attached to the top of the book, and place them on the magnetic pages. In the first scene, they are asked to dress the snowman in his hat, scarf, and buttons, and these nouns, plus a couple of others about the wildlife, are printed in bold to help them. Another shows James and all the snowmen flying over the Taj Mahal, in a starry night. There are magnets of seagulls, ships, the moon, and of course all the snowmen. In the next picture they must add hats, kilts, and balloons to liven up the snowmen’s party. Once these spreads are completed, there is a surprise giant foldout of a wintry scene, which can be completed any way they like.
On the reverse of this foldout is a complete chart of all the magnets included in the pack, for matching. Children can place the magnets over the top, and read out the name underneath.
This is an excellent book for little ones, and the artwork is in the same style as Raymond Briggs’s original, so would be quite recognisable to children who like the film or book. The pages are, sensibly, made of laminated board. Hours of creative play can be had with this book, but a word of caution ...
The book is just a little larger than an average hardback novel, and slightly landscape format. Therefore the magnets are only a few centimetres across; sometimes just one or two. The book states that it is not suitable for children less than 3 years, and I would suggest that children are supervised at all times when this book is around.
Other than that, it is a delightful book for children and adults alike; perhaps just a special one, to get down from a high shelf to share.
Displaying 1 of 1 review