Father Christmas

Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman - inspiration for The Snowman and Snowdog - introduces us to a rather grumpy Father Christmas. In this hilariously irreverent Christmas book, Father Christmas has awoken from a dream of summer sun to discover it is December 24th, Christmas Eve - the start of his longest night's work of the year! Much merriment ensues as Father Christmas travels the world, with a few issues along the way, to bring joy to children everywhere. Published 40 years ago, this delightful anniversary edition has lost none of its charm. This book was awarded The Library Association's Kate Greenaway Medal.

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Raymond Briggs is one of the foremost creators of illustrated books for adults and children, including the unforgettable The Snowman and Father Christmas.

THE BASICS
Born: Wimbledon Park, January 18th 1934*
Jobs: Artist, Writer
Lives: Sussex
First Book for Children: The Strange House, 1961
*Raymond shares his birthday with A A Milne and Arthur Ransome

THE BOOKS
Raymond Briggs' parents have proved an important source of inspiration to the author/artist. His father was a milkman; his mother a former lady's maid. Raymond's unique characterisation of Father Christmas is based on his father - "Father Christmas and the milkman both have wretched jobs: working in the cold, wet and dark." His parents also influenced the character of Jim and Hilda, the victims of nuclear fall-out, in When The Wind Blows.

Raymond left school aged 15 to study painting at Wimbledon School of Art. After completing a typography course at the Central School of Art, and two years of National Service, Raymond went on to the Slade School to study painting. His first work was in advertising, but before long he was winning acclaim as a children's book illustrator as well as teaching illustration at Brighton College of Art.

Raymond was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1966 for his fourth picture book, The Mother Goose Treasury, and again in 1973 for Father Christmas. Published in 1978, The Snowman is perhaps Raymond's best-loved creation. He says that the book was partly inspired by its predecessor, Fungus The Bogeyman - "For two years I worked on Fungus, buried amongst muck, slime and words, so... I wanted to do something which was clean, pleasant, fresh and wordless and quick."

WHAT HE SAYS...

"The essence of being able to draw from memory (is) to be a mini actor. If the figure is to walk jauntily with its nose in the air, you have to imagine what that feels like."

"I once kept a record of the time it took to do two pages. Pencilling - 20 hours, inking - 18 hours, colouring - 25 hours. And all that's after months of getting ideas, writing and planning."

"People often ask about the technique in (The Snowman)... it is done entirely with pencil crayons, with no line in pen or pencil and no washes of ink or watercolour."

"Most of my ideas seem to be based on a simple premise: let's assume that something imaginary - a snowman, a Bogeyman, a Father Christmas - is wholly real and then proceed logically from there."

"In Fungus the Bogeyman I wanted to show the petty nastiness of life - slime and snot and spit and dandruff, all this awful stuff which is slightly funny because it detracts from human dignity and our pretensions."

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT RAYMOND BRIGGS...

"In different ways Briggs has revolutionised the art of telling stories with pictures." Twentieth Century Children's Writers

"One of our foremost illustrators." Art Quarterly

"A picture book artist of unparalleled inventiveness." Books For Your Children

"The man who did for snowmen what Disney did for mice." TES

"Briggs does not write down to children." Daily Express

"It's a measure of Briggs' skill as a writer that he manages to balance (a) sense of loss with positive elements such as love, excitement and happiness." Kids Out

"Raymond Briggs touches some very human level that everyone can relate to." Yorkshire Post

"(Jim and the Beanstalk) is well on the way to becoming a children's classic." Nursery World

"The Mother Goose Treasury is one of the best rhyme books ever published - no home or school should be without a copy." The Scotsman

"The Snowman has become part of our traditional Christmas culture." Junior

AWARDS

The Kate Greenaway Medal 1966 for The Mother Goose Treasury
The Kate Greenaway Medal 19734 for Father Christmas
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1979
Victoria & Albert Museum Francis Williams Prize 1982 for The Snowman
Children's Rights Workshop Other Award 1982
Kurt Maschler Award 1992 for The Man
Children’s Author of the Year 1992
Illustrated Book of the Year 1998 for Ethel and Ernest
Silver Pen Award, Holland 1979