Author and illustrator Raymond Briggs, best known for the 1978 classic The Snowman, has died aged 88.
His family said in a statement through publisher Penguin Random House that Briggs died on Tuesday morning. Briggs was best known for The Snowman, which has sold more than 5.5 million copies around the world.
An animated version of The Snowman made for Channel 4 in 1982 has become a festive staple and has been shown every Christmas since. Briggs also created the beloved children’s books Father Christmas, Fungus the Bogeyman and When the Wind Blows.
