Snowman

One of my favorite things during the holidays is to watch this tape (you can get a DVD too I think) non-stop and drink cocoa. Corny?! Oh, yes, very corny, but really a terrific film. It's based on the book, The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs and it's just a terrific thing.

First of all, it's a story -- a complicated, action-packed, detailed story -- told without words. It's quiet and soothing and very inspiring. It all about the adventures of a little boy and a snowman, who suddenly comes alive.

Raymond Briggs also wrote and illustrated the most touching book about growing up in England during the war and a wonderful remembrance of his parents called "Ethel and Ernest". I need to buy it. I nearly wept reading it at the library one day last year. It's amazing.