Raymond Briggs

Time For Lights Out

  • Time For Lights Out

  • In his customary pose as the grumpiest of grumpy old men, Raymond Briggs contemplates old age and death… and doesn’t like them much. Illustrated with Briggs’s inimitable pencil drawings, Time for Lights Out is a collection of short pieces, some funny, some melancholy, some remembering his wife who died young, others about the joy of grandchildren, of walking the dog… He looks back at his schooldays and his time as an evacuee during the war, and remembers his parents and the house in which he grew up. But most, like this one, are about his home in Sussex:

    Looking round this house,
    What will they say,
    The future ghosts?

    There must have been
    Some barmy old bloke here,
    Long-haired, artsy-fartsy type,
    Did pictures for kiddy books
    Or some such tripe.

    You should have seen the stuff
    He stuck up in that attic!
    Snowman this and snowman that,
    Tons and tons of tat.

The Snowman Pop-Up
The Snowman Pop-Up
Raymond Briggs
The Snowman
The Snowman
Raymond Briggs
Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Raymond Briggs
Notes From the Sofa
Notes From the Sofa
Raymond Briggs
The Snowdog Shaped Board
The Snowdog Shaped Board
Raymond Briggs
UG: Boy Genius of the Stone Age and His Search for Soft Trousers
UG: Boy Genius of the Stone Age and His Search for Soft Trousers
Raymond Briggs
Ethel & Ernest
Ethel & Ernest
Raymond Briggs
The Bear
The Bear
Raymond Briggs
The Snowman: The Book of the Classic Film
The Snowman: The Book of the Classic Film
Raymond Briggs
The Snowman and the Snowdog Finger Puppet Book
The Snowman and the Snowdog Finger Puppet Book
Raymond Briggs
The Tin-Pot Foreign General And the Old Iron Woman
The Tin-Pot Foreign General And the Old Iron Woman
Raymond Briggs
The Snowman and the Snowdog
The Snowman and the Snowdog
Raymond Briggs
Fungus the Bogeyman
Fungus the Bogeyman
Raymond Briggs
The Father Christmas it's a Bloomin' Terrible Joke Book
The Father Christmas it's a Bloomin' Terrible Joke Book
Raymond Briggs
Gentleman Jim
Gentleman Jim
Raymond Briggs
The Puddleman
The Puddleman
Raymond Briggs
The Bear
The Bear
Raymond Briggs
When the Wind Blows
When the Wind Blows
Raymond Briggs
The Snowman
The Snowman
Raymond Briggs
The Elephant and the Bad Baby
The Elephant and the Bad Baby
  • Elfrida Vipont
  • Raymond Briggs
Father Christmas Goes on Holiday
Father Christmas Goes on Holiday
Raymond Briggs
Jim and the Beanstalk
Jim and the Beanstalk
Raymond Briggs

The Snowman

3 Books

The Snowman and the Snowdog

2 Books
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Features

Penguin.co.uk editors on the books they'll be giving this year

From joyful illustrated classics to vital essay collections, these are the books our team of editors can't wait to put under the tree this year.
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News

Penguin Ventures celebrates 40 years of The Snowman with Barbour, Fenwick and The Royal Mint

Three major partnerships have been announced to mark the 40th anniversary of the much-loved Christmas classic by Raymond Briggs.
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Games & activities

Make a festive Snowman and the Snowdog garland

Get crafty with The Snowman and the Snowdog with this sweet and super simple paper garland – the perfect homemade Christmas decorations!
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Games & activities

Bake Snowman biscuits with Biscuiteers

Get ready for Christmas and bake these adorable The Snowman biscuits at home with this recipe from Biscuiteers. A great festive treat or fantastic edible gift!
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The Snowman™ comes home to Penguin Random House UK
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Raymond Briggs wins BookTrust 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award
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Features

Raymond Briggs

The iconic illustrator and author gives his views on everything from writing to giving dinner parties and why drawing trumps both

Raymond Briggs was born in London in 1934. He is the author of the hugely successful children's books Father Christmas and The Snowman. These books have been translated into many languages and adapted into films, plays and TV cartoons. His other books include Fungus the Bogeyman, Ug, When the Wind Blows, Ethel & Ernest, a biography of his parents, and his latest, Time for Lights Out, a contemplation on old age, told through words and pictures.

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