Have you ever heard of the children’s book “The Snowman” by Raymond Briggs? It was released in 1978, but then produced as a short musical film in 1982. The film has been a part of my family’s Christmas and winter tradition for over 20 years, and I love sharing it with my students each January. Whether you are familiar with it or not, I hope you can take away something from reading this.
“The Snowman” is about a boy who builds a snowman which later comes to life and takes him on a magical adventure. It was originally a book that had nothing to do with Christmas and did not include the Christmas tree or Santa scene as shown in the movie. The book has only pictures, detailing the story line. In the movie, there are no words spoken. There are several different introductions (one by David Bowie) and also a gorgeous song, “Walking in the Air,” which was sung by a young choir boy. The music, written by Howard Blake, is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I had to buy the soundtrack because I absolutely love it!
Song: "Walking in the Air"
I use “The Snowman” film as a nice transitional lesson after Christmas or that first week in January with my K-1st graders. Before watching, we talk about how music can tell a story without even using words, and I show them the book with only pictures. Before I hit play, I give them some active listening/watching questions. They must count on their hand how many different kinds of animals they see, and there are quite a few: birds, pheasants, rabbits, horse, fox, cat, etc. Then I also have them count how many instruments they see and hear in the snowman party scene. Finally, as the movie is nearly over, the little boy, James, discovers his snowman friend has melted in the sun. Afterwards, we discuss how a snowman couldn’t really come to life, so maybe he had a dream. But then at last, James is shown pulling out a scarf that he was given by Santa on his magical journey with the snowman! It is sure to make them think. You’ll definitely have to watch it for this all to make sense!
Due to my family’s fascination with this video and the countless number of times I have watched and listened to it in my life, I decided to do some research on the background of the book and movie. The author, Briggs, told reporters that he did not write it about Christmas, he did not believe in happy endings, and he wrote it to introduce mortality to children. Well, let’s just say the movie takes on the lighter, happier side of the story. Also it has been made into a stage production more recently. The final scarf scene is my favorite scene, but there are other unique, little additions by the film producers. For one, James was the name of one of the animator’s boyfriend, now husband. The motorcycle has a license plate that is the house number of one of the directors. The background of the animation of this film is also interesting, and my school’s art teacher took off with this element this year. The animation’s soft, warm look added to the beautiful, sometimes melancholic music creates a wonderful masterpiece which just turned 40 years old this past November.
If you are interested in “The Snowman,” you can click below to download a resource that I have put together with links and questions. Thanks for reading! If the download does not work or if you have any other questions, as always, feel free to e-mail me at bethsmusicclassroom@gmail.com.