In case you are not familiar with the good - natured Snowman pictured above (in sextuplicate!) now is the perfect time to beat the midwinter blues and blahs by acquainting yourself with the delightful animated film, including lovely music by Howard Blake, from which these plush toys are derived. Some viewers prefer the original introduction, featuring the artist / author Raymond Briggs; others like the expanded version by David Bowie. I have never understood why The Snowman is not as popular and widely marketed in the USA as it is in England. I would choose it over Frosty the Snowman any day.
How did I come to possess so many? Well, back when I first mentioned the Snowman on my blog, it never occurred to me that this endearing, puffy stuffed toy, one of our all- time favorite book / movie tie - ins, was soon to become an endangered species, even on good old reliable amazon. My friend Barbara recently recalled purchasing a Snowman exactly like these "at CVS a long time ago!" I remember getting some at Kohl's a few years back, and for a good twenty years (1995 - 2015) I ordered numerous Snowmen from amazon to give as baby presents, such as this well - worn, well - loved one for my brother Aaron's grand-daughter Mia.
about a charming old poem from favorite childhood:
His Bunny
Poor, grey bunny --
Once you were white,
But Jimmy drags you all around,
And sleeps with you at night.
He drags you to his sandbox,
And hold you in his crib,
And sits you i his highchair
To use you for a bib.
Poor, grey bunny --
With one eye gone -- how sad --
and one ear slightly turned askew,
But, bunny, aren't you glad
That out of all the things he has,
Of every single toy,
You'd get to be the favorite one
Of such a precious boy!
~ by Marilyn Jean Fais
Aaron wrote: "I showed Lindsey [Mia's mom] the copy of 'Poor Grey Bunny' and told her all she had to do was change 'Bunny' to 'Snowman' and 'boy' to 'girl' and that is 100% Mia. She still carries that Snowman with her everywhere she goes!! Lindsey loved the poem (she actually took a picture of it) and doesn't know what they are going to do if Snowman falls apart before Mia finally outgrows him. They've tried switching him out with a newer one, but Mia wants nothing to do with a 'replacement' Snowman."
Lindsey said: "That [collection of Snowmen] is awesome! We bought a replacement when Mia was about one year old just in case she lost the original. She wasn’t interested -- I think it’s the different fabric for the scarf and hat. Can you tell he’s loved?!"
Awwwww! Yes, we sure can!
I love the story of Mia and her "poor, grey Snowman." A number of other friends also share with us from time to time that the Snowman we gave them at some point in the past has become a family favorite. I even sent one to my mom so that she could see what it was that dear little Mia was so attached to, and now she keeps him all year round, propped up right beside her television. Then there was the fun year when three of my sweet hair-dressers all had babies around the same time and all received a Snowman for Christmas for their little ones.
Sadly, around that time, the lovely plush Snowman just started disappearing from the market, so I ordered as many as I could find from ebay; most were imported from England, "new with tags," though a couple of them were slightly worn -- still, better than none. Hopefully, new ones will reappear in the stores in the future, but it did not happen this Christmas. No matter what your age, if you ask me, there is no nicer present than a Snowman book, movie, and toy all wrapped up together!
Do You Want to Buy a Snowman?
Yes, I do!
But I just don't know where to get one!
P.S.
You can also buy china figurines
and children's breakfast dishes
from Royal Doulton.
SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Thursday, February 28th
Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com
Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com
