The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

playing "Nutcracker:" we use kitchen spoons....Callum is always the Mouse King, and you have to be the Nutcracker....and then you 'fight' to the music...Maira getting her kitty cat and Callum getting his puppy from "yellow bean" (LL Bean). Callum, moments later, named his dog Rover.
Maira's DNA blocks! Check out the snow abutting the Springpond woods (Jai, 2996). It DID snow on Christmas. At least we got that....
The "Snowman" legacy is alive and well in the Goldsmith family.....have you read this?
"The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs, has got to be one of our favorite books of all time. I say "our," meaning Amanda, me......and now Callum. The book was such a special piece of writing (or lack thereof, since it is all just beautiful illustrations and you 'figure it out' yourself...it is essentially a graphic novel) during the time Amanda and I were "courting." The basic premise is quite simple--it is like a romantic "Frosty:" A little boy builds a snowman that comes to life at midnight....the snowman comes in the house and the boy teaches the snowman about his world....then, the snowman takes the boy on a magical adventure to teach the boy about HIS world. Sounds very cliche and overdone, right? It isnt. It is absolutely beautiful. Just give it a chance.

When Amanda and I were dating, I remember it all so clearly: she didnt have a TV in her room at her apartment, so her roommate Ally was good enough to let Amanda borrow hers...I rented the VHS from the video store in Durham, and we had a Snowman date. First, we made a gargantuan bowl of pasta and homemade sauce with Italian sausages in it. Then we watched the movie. It was one of the most pleasant and beautiful dates we ever had. It still is all so vivid. We bought the book at Stroudwater Books in Dover, and AAmanda wrote "Amanda and Jared" in the front cover--it was so special because this is the first book we ever 'bought' together.

Fast forward twelve-plus years, and now it is the most amazing thing ever to happen to little Callum Stuart. I know the kid loves reindeer and snowmen, so, this past week, when perusing the library collections, I borrowed the VHS movie for him, since I knew we had the book upstairs. PLUS, for CHristmas, Callum got a beautiful book called "To Make A Friend," which is based around the same premise of a boy making a snowman and then losing him when the warm weather came. The movie was a smash hit for Callum--he is in love with the film AND the book....not to mention the amazingly beautiful score of the film--he walks around humming it all day long. I love how he loves "The Snowman" for two reasons: First, it is a special book for the Goldsmith family and it is definitely a "rite of passage" for him, so to speak. Second, I am in love with the fact that a lot of kids today would absolutely HATE this book and film. The book has no words, just sketches. Done in colored pencil. Not 3D -bright- digital- color- things. Thre is limited "action;" the boy and the snowman do simple things--they dont go blow stuff up and they dont fly in a turbo infused aerodynamic module ship thing. There is no bad guy. It is just a beautiful book, and that is all. And the movie has no talking in it at all. Just motions and a beautiful musical score. It takes work and imagination and patience to appreciate it, I believe, and I am so happy that Callum loves it. Smart kid. Go check it out!