Description

The Snowman is a children's picture book without words by English author Raymond Briggs, first published in 1978 by Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom, and published by Random House in the United States in November of the same year. The book was adapted into a twenty-six-minute animated television special in 1982, which debuted on Channel 4 in the UK on 26 December. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The animated special became prominent in British popular culture and its showings have since become an annual festive event.

On a cold winter’s night a snowman comes to life and befriends the little boy who built him. After exploring the boy’s house together and sharing a candlelit feast, the pair fly across the frozen countryside, before racing home to beat the dawn, but wonder turns to sadness. The next morning, the boy wakes to find his snowman has melted.

Since the story of The Snowman turns 40 in 2018, the Royal Mint has commemorated it over the past few years due to its unwavering popularity.