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Book Talk!

Remembering Raymond Briggs

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I couldn’t let 2022 slip into history without noting the passing of British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs earlier this year in Brighton, England at age 88. His obituary referred to him as a “children’s” author; Briggs was indeed that, and so much more.

Throughout a successful career that spanned over half a century, his subjects ranged from the fanciful, like the shy, green character Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), to the tragic graphic novel “When the Wind Blows” (1982), about the horror of nuclear war as seen though the eyes of a British couple who dutifully, naively and calmly carry on, as they make preparations for impending Armageddon.

In fact, most of Briggs’ work deals with themes of love, loss and death, handled with incredible tenderness, gentle humor and an occasional touch of irony, perhaps none more so than “Ethel & Ernest – A True Story” (1998), a graphic novel that chronicles the lives of Briggs’ parents from their first meeting in 1928 to their deaths in 1971. All of Briggs’ work is worth seeking out, whether in or out of print.

None of Briggs’ work has achieved greater success than “The Snowman,” first published in 1978 and thanks to the “Snowman mania” that gripped Britain and elsewhere, has remained in print in various editions, along with a veritable avalanche of Snowman themed merchandise, and was later made into a short animated film with haunting musical accompaniment.

Virtually anyone of any age should enjoy this delightful, moving tale, whether alone or in the company of a parent or guardian, because Briggs tells the story without using a single word. In just 30 pages, Briggs fills 158 panels with his dreamlike soft-focus illustrations drawn with colored pencils.

A young boy awakes to find a landscape covered with snow. Hurriedly dressing and rushing outside, he constructs a friendly, grownup size snowman who stands like a frozen sentinel in the boy’s front yard. Until nightfall that is, when the boy, dreaming of his lonely new friend, invites him inside for a tour of his home.

The snowman’s first innocent encounters with the hearth, TV set, ice cubes the family automobile and other objects familiar to all of us recall the delight of youthful innocence and discovery all too many of us have lost with the passage of time. And, oh yes, this snowman can fly! And fly he does, taking the boy on a magical journey through the night sky before bringing him safely home, bidding him farewell, and again standing watch on into the night.

The boy sleeps the sleep of an innocent, as only a child can, until the dawn of a new day sends him hurtling out to the front yard, to confront the aftermath of the fate that all snowmen, no matter how magical, must succumb.

Briggs’ tale of innocence, discovery, love and loss continues to resonate with readers to this day. Set the relentless commercialism and holiday hubbub aside for a while, and let Briggs’ expert storytelling delight you and yours as it has delighted others for the past 40-plus years.

Special thanks to the Doylestown Bookshop (doylestownbookshop.com) for their assistance in preparing this edition of Book Talk!

Until next time, Happy Holidays! And remember that “It’s always better with a book!”


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