The Snowman and the Snowdog

The Snowman #2

by Hilary Audus, Joanna Harrison, Raymond Briggs (Original Author)

The Snowman and The Snowdog is the much-anticipated sequel to The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. This enchanting book reunites readers with the Snowman and introduces them to an adorable new puppy-friend, the Snowdog. Beautiful images from the film bring the magical Christmas story to life in this enchanting book. This book includes an audio CD featuring a narration read by Benedict Cumberbatch and the music from the beautiful score of the film.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Fiction, Holiday, Fantasy

32 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Mayke ☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Christmas story. Beautiful illustrations and a lovely storyline.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy moves into a new home and in his eagerness to explore, he discovers an old hat, a scarf, a shriveled tangerine and some coal hidden in his new room, along with a photo of a boy and a snowman. The boy builds his own snowman just like the one in the photo. For good measure, he adds a snowdog. The snow duo come to life in a magical adventure.

Warning! The dog dies on page 2! I was NOT expecting that! This story has words to go with the pictures and therefore kind of lacks the simple charm of the original. The story is magical and fantastical-more so than the original. It is a sweet homage though. The pictures are more rounded and cutesy than Raymond Briggs' original illustrations but they're charming and cute.

Niece #1 is dying to read this. I'll report back if she and her brother and cousins end up looking at it.

[Kym · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a knock-off of The Snowman written by Raymond Briggs. The illustrations are nice. However, I did not like that the dog dies in the beginning.

[Nhi Nguyễn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy who lost his beloved dog a while ago received a beautiful gift at Christmas by building a snowman and a snowdog. They magically came to life and took him on an adventure, flying to different places, even to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. The ending left a heart-warming mark with the snowdog transforming into a real, breathing, living dog - the boy's new best friend - thanks to the magic dog collar that Santa Claus gave to the boy.

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely and heartwarming! Especially the end.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The snowman film is so nostalgic for me, the snowman and the snowdog was an instant draw. And let’s just say, the audiobook narration by Benedict Cumberbatch also may have had a small (okay maybe more than small) influence on my decision to pick this up too.

It’s December, I’m watching all the Christmas films, reading all the Christmas books and this one (even though it’s more targeted for children) was a must. I loved it, despite the undertone being a little sad and depressing. But it was still a lovely story and retains the nostalgia for me. Nothing will ever beat the original but I’m glad they’ve done something else with the story. The snow dog is such a cute concept.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library to read to my Granddaughter.
It begins with the dog dying and ends with the snowman melting.
Not exactly appropriate reading material for a 2-year-old but the goth part of Grandma loved it.

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and original story. It is a fairly short reading story with very short sentences.

[Ms.Gaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feeling lonely after moving to a new location and losing his dog to old age, Billy stumbles on a loose floorboard and discovers a box of mementos from another boy who lived in this same room years ago. Billy uses items from the box to build a snowman just like the one in the photo, and with leftover snow he forms a snowdog. This magical story is bittersweet - the snowman melts but the snowdog becomes real.
Using images culled from the hand-drawn animation of the short film, this sequel to The Snowman can stand alone. Briggs’ original book was wordless, and both films are without dialogue, but this title includes a story in traditional picture book style. While suitable, the text doesn’t always match the images; however, the illustrations are impressive. Coarse, earthy scenes, as well as dreamy, velvety visions create a delightful adventure.
Fans new and old will be captivated by this enchanting book.

[Anna Reads Mysteries · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the original story, it's just a quick additional tale based on the original.

And while sweet, it hasn't got anything much to do with the snowman - it's mostly about a boy who lost his old dog and got a new one.

And while this is a fine tale as it is, there are some missed opportunities.
I know it's short, but I think this would have been great to teach children about dealing with grief, about turning to an adult regarding their feelings, rather than building a snowman, who takes them flying and building a snowdog that will eventually become a real dog thanks to Santa.

I see the magic, but I feel like we should expect more from stories written for children.
Especially if there is a lesson to be learned, teach it, don't be lazy with your writing just because your audience are kids.

[DrosoPHila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some books shouldn't have sequels.

The TV version of The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is a Christmas staple. It's quite good. A nice Christmas tradition. I could even play the tune on the piano once. It's self-contained. The snowman melts at the end, which is a metaphor for death so obvious that even I didn't miss it.

But, money, so let's cash in on it and make a pointless sequel.

Here he is again - is it the same snowman? This time with a pet dog which is also resurrection of a dog the character used to have? Or is it a different dog? Does this make any sense?

[Shakira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading it to my son. A classic.
It is sad that the dog dies on page 2…..however I grew up with a dog myself, lived to be 17 so I was older when she passed at 24.
But children are more clued in than we know and I think it’s healthy for them to know that animals do die and to ask questions.
It’s a bit of a blunt ending for the dog hence the complaints from people, but look at HP and most kids stories, death is a fact of life. Sad but it’s nice in the end for the boy whose letter to Santa is answered.

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is The Snowman and the Snowdog a charming nod to the original Snowman story, but it's also a lovely way of introducing loss and grief to children in an honest, straightforward way. Billy's old dog dies and he's very sad, but after a Christmas adventure with the Snowman and the Snowdog things start looking up - especially after he gets to make his Christmas wish directly to Santa himself!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start was upsetting some kids could have been tromitiesed I was a bit sad that they used the word dead at least they could have described it differently like “Billy’s dog passed away and he was lonely” I do like the ending I thought it was really cute. The party wasn’t talked about much. My favourite bit was the end and my worst favourite bit was the start.

[Rachel McNair · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Snowman was one of my favorite books as a kid - it holds a special place in my heart. But this, it’s not even written by Raymond Briggs - it’s based on his characters. It’s a bit of a downer - the dog dying at the beginning and it ending with the snowman melting. It just lacked the magic of the original.

[Poppy Thorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

We both really like this one! The story is good, and we loved all the snow people coming together! Sophia was a bit sad about the snowman right at the end. But we are looking forward to building a snowdog together one day!

[Tandri Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why people think it was written by Raymond Briggs as it wasn't. It was adapted to a book by Hilary Audus in 2013 after she directed the animated short of the same name that came out in 2012.

4 Stars
CAWPILE = 7.29

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty similar to the original in many ways. Although perhaps not the right ones. Cute story overall, but sad right from the offset without warning. Thankfully improved. Would be nice to have the illustrations on a separate page, so it doesn't spoil the story.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack said he LOVED this one because the dog was so cute. This would be a fun Christmastime read.

[Fritzov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story about a Snowman that melts.

[alekz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook with Cumberbatch. Lovley.

[ViNo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little bedtime story for children.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book!

[Kristin Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting this book to start off as sad as it did. I probably wouldn't have read it to my daughter if I had known.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a really cute little story! Who doesn’t love this little book?!

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Armas lugu unistamisest, seiklustest ning sellest, kuidas vahel unistused unenäona tunduvad, kuid ühel hetkel hoopis tegelikkuseks muutuvad. Kõikide koerast unistajate meelisteos.

[melmarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes I gave this 4 stars because of the narrator 😂

[Oopsie Daisy (Crows Version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the film better.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short but cute story.