A magical re-imagining of a classic tale by a beloved author. An excellent addition to any collection of children's books, and a perfect Christmas present.

The Snowman has been one of my favourite stories since I was a very little girl - and I found this kept the essence of the original beautifully.

What a wonderful book this is! I was a huge fan of the original wordless picture book back in the 80s and this new version supplies a fleshed out story that will delight old fans and create many new ones. Murpurgo writes brilliantly for children and this is no exception. He manages to do that rare thing - improve a classic and much-loved story and he does so with sensitivity and joy. I bought a physical copy for my daughter and I'm sure she will treasure it as much as I treasure my 42 year old original copy.

A wonderful addition to the much-loved animation and picture book version of The Snowman. Perfect to share with my class and we produced some lovely work based around it. There was lots of requests for repeat readings.

I loved this book i read it to my daughter as her christmas bedrime story she enjoyed it to i lime that it was like the snowman film but also different aswell i wonder how long it will be until this book becomes a film like the other two

Absolutely does the magic of the original justice. The story is broadly the same, but a few details have been tweaked in a way that I think enhances the tale for the better (I loved the detail of giving James a stammer, for instance). A perfect read to get in the mood for Christmas.

I’m a huge fan of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman – I remember reading the picture book in the library as a young child, and I have such a fondness for the film adaptation that’s on TV every year. I can’t resist watching it even now as a grown adult! So when I heard that Michael Morpurgo was writing a novella based on the original book of The Snowman I was super intrigued and knew I had to get my hands on a copy! I’m so happy to say that I really enjoyed it!

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.

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!

A gorgeous, magical and nostalgic read!

Bought the hardback as gifts for people this Christmas as I think it make a fantastic festive present for all-ages.

When I saw this book, a retelling of The Snowman my go to Christmas book, my heart leapt into my mouth with excitement. I love Raymond Briggs originally storybook with its beautiful pictures and Christmassy atmosphere. I was intrigued to see how Michael would deal with this story.

The Snowman is inspired not only by the original but also by the movie and other bits and bobs. Yet despite the modernisation it is still a classic waiting to be consumed.

The illustrations dotted throughout the book add nicely to the story. And I loved that their inspiration is taken from Briggs original book.

This was a great festive read, and one that will be read every year by so many families from now on.

When I saw this book, I thought there must be a mistake, how can you write a story to this beautiful, timeless, classic, wordless book. I should not have been worried, Michael Morpurgo has never disappointed before and he did not this time. I loved that he got permission from Raymond Briggs before writing this novella. This is a delightful book, drawing on Raymond Briggs' wonderful illustrated, wordless story, The Snowman. Using some inspiration from the Channel 4 movie, and adding some bits and pieces from his own creative mind, we have a wonderful story, both familiar and with some new bits. With Grandma visiting and getting to experience the magic of Christmas with the Snowman, it makes this a family story, with Christmas customs.

James, a child with a stammer who might be lonely and ostracized by classmates is sadly all too real. His new friendship with The Snowman and his family and friends, help him overcome his stammer and find his words. When he is accepted as he is, he develops confidence to develop fluency and overcome. Even though the illustrations are black and white, they bring the essence of the original story with them. At the end of the story, there was a section about Christmas traditions around the world as well as the art of snowman building. This will be a great story for families to read together during the Advent Season. Watching the movie and sharing the Raymond Briggs story will all make this a truly wonderful experience and family Christmas Custom. The publisher, Puffin, generously provided me with a copy to read upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

This is a wonderful book following the classic film and graphic novel The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Both by Michael Morpurgo and Robin Shaw fill in little details in the story without trying to veer away from the original.

I can still remember the first time this was shown on Channel 4 in the eighties and find this book is a very welcome addition to the story of The Snowman for kids of all ages.

My daughter is a massive fan of Michael Morpurgo so when I saw that he had released a new re-imagined version of The Snowman I had to buy a copy so both my daughter and myself could read it.

I grew up with the beautiful story of The Snowman and reading this lovely story took me back to my memories of reading the original as a child in the lead up to Christmas. 

This is a beautiful story that is wonderfully interwoven with the original to ensure that the story of The Snowman released 40 years ago has not been lost. It is the perfect story to curl up with your younger children and read whilst snuggling with a Hot Chocolate and a lovely way for older children to experience the magic of Christmas. 

A lovely festive read that I would recommend to children of all ages that carries all of the magic of the original story and more.

Morpurgo has really brought alive Briggs' story alive in this novella. It is a beautiful story about a lonely little boy with a stutter who is craving friendship which he finds with his best friend the snowman.

The story is completely magical with hidden depths surrounding James. I will definitely be buying and reading this to my children this Christmas!

I read this retelling of Raymond Briggs’ ‘The Snowman’ with my 7 year old daughter and 3 year old son. They both listened avidly over several nights (it’s a novella), enjoying the illustrations and the fact that it is faithful to the original version, and the animated version. There is an extra element to the adventure towards the end which we all accepted happily. It fleshes out the things we know about James, his family and of course the Snowman.

Perfect to enjoy at Christmas time, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy in return for an unbiased review.

Morpurgo fills out the backstory of a Christmas perennial.

I am part of the generation who has watched The Snowman every Christmas since my memories begin. It's a part of my childhood, now part of my own children's, and we have both the original wordless comic strip book and the TV adaptation version. So yes - fans.

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.

As is often the case, the basic story remains the same as the one you know, but with extra details and backstory added in. James reads 'The Snowman' in the run-up to Christmas, his grandma comes to visit, we learn he has a stutter. On Christmas Eve, snow falls and he builds a snowman, in the image of the character in his book. And then night falls...

So yes, very similar to the original. There are a few changes but in general the story follows a similar route to Briggs'.

The main difference occurs near the end, and was a positive and warm addition to the story that makes it stand out as its own entity. I haven't yet read this to my son but do intend to near Christmas (it's currently only October) and know he'll love the last few chapters.

Morpurgo employs a rather straightforward style of writing, never flowery or overly humorous, but gets straight into a story. It's a very easily-pictured set of scenes and will most certainly bring a little magical feeling to the season when it arrives.

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.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Perfect, I will be reading this with my smallest child closer to Christmas. She will love it
I very much enjoyed it myself and I can't wait to read it again in December

How can the original story be improved? By Michael Morpurgo writing a companion novella!
Everyone has their own special memories of The Snowman, reading the pictures with our children or watching the film and I was worried that a novella would spoil the imagination. I am pleased to say that I was wrong, and with the introduction of Grandma to the story, I will be able to have magical story time memories with my grandchildren.
I know which book will be in their stockings this Christmas.
The illustrations by Robin Shaw are wonderful.

The original book was one of my favourites books when I was growing up and still is. I loved the illustrations in this book, they are just adorable. Michael Morpurgo has done a great job with the re-telling of this magical book.

Read this to my nephew and he thoroughly enjoyed it, he now wants to build his own magic flying snowman.

While the language and story in this book are fine I'm really not sure why it needed rewriting and expanding, plus being given the 'problem' that James has to overcome.
I'm also not sure that the meta aspect worked with James reading the original snowman book.

Nothing particularly wrong with thus book, I just don't see why it was necessary. My favourite but was about the Christmas traditions around the world listed at the end.

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?

I am imagining you are all thinking this. Don’t say you’re not. I love Christmas. I love Bonfire Night and Halloween (well… in theory, I love Halloween. I love all the myths and legends on Halloween. In pratice… no. I hate it. I will be the one sitting the dark of my house, pretending that no one is home… but that’s a blog post for another day). So, when I saw this on NetGalley, I thought it would be a fun little read for me. A nice break from Time Convert, my current adult read (which I an enjoying, but it’s so weird reading this book when, the other books In the series, I have audiobooked…). Plus, I was curious on how Michael Morpurgo was going to write this, how he was going to tackle this classic. Tackle it head-on, or go into it from a slight angle…

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…

Where do I start with this novella?

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.

So, what about Michael Morpurgo’s version? Does it work?

It does, strangely. It adds something new to the mythology, yet tries to stay as faith as it can. It feels like a story that cane be read with the original and still stand on its own two feet. Plus, this novella would be perfect for a parent, guardian or grandparent to read with a child at bedtime or a child to read to themselves.

As an adult reading this, I really liked the story Michael wrote and how he tackled one or two issues in it. Not saying what, but they were address in a simple, kind way. Plus, having James’s grandma involved in the story made the ending less bittersweet compared to the original.

Small note about the illustrations by Robin Shaw. I really liked these. Sadly, I have a black-and-white kindle so no idea if they are meant to be colour or not, but I liked these illustrations hugely and just wanted to give the illustrator his due.

There was an odd moment when James read the original Snowman tale in this novella. Inception moment, anymore? But it’s a nod to the original and am glad it was there, but some people might go “Huh?” over it. No biggie, though.

While this is not going to be anything like the original, it’s still a wonderful story and am very tempted to buy this for the tiny humans in my life near Christmas-time…