The Snowball (children's novel) facts for kids

The Snowball is a fun fantasy book for kids, first published in 1969. It was written by an English author named Barbara Sleigh, who also wrote the popular Carbonel series. The main characters in the story are two children: Tom Tickle, who is eight years old, and his younger sister, Tilda, who is six.

The Exciting Story

The story takes place in a small house. It's on the edge of a quiet English town. One day, Tom and Tilda's mother has to leave. She goes to help some family members who have measles. This leaves the children with their father. He is a schoolmaster and very busy writing a book.

Right after their mother leaves, snow begins to fall. Tom and Tilda decide to make snow figures. Tom builds a snowman. Tilda, with a little help from Tom, makes a snow-woman.

The Mysterious Snowball

The next day, the children find something strange. A large, smooth snowball is sitting between their snowman and snow-woman. They think it's special. So, they decide to keep it safe in the fridge. They want to show it to their mother when she comes home.

But this was no ordinary snowball! Three days later, it hatches. Out pops a tiny, little person! This new creature is white from head to foot. It has round, soft hands and feet, like a teddy bear's paws. When it shakes, little bits of ice fly everywhere.

Meeting Flump

The story tells how Tom and Tilda secretly raise this "snow baby." They teach him to talk. They notice he can be a bit "touchy" sometimes. He also quickly grows too big for the refrigerator! The book describes all this in a funny and easy-to-read way. The children decide to name the snow baby Flump. This is because of the funny sound he makes when he sits down.

The first edition of the book has cheerful black-and-white drawings. These were made by Patricia Drew.

The Ending

Later in the story, their mother returns home. But then, the snow family disappears. They vanish along with all the snow. It turns out that Tom and Tilda have also caught measles.

About the Book's Editions

The first version of The Snowball came out in 1969. It was published by Brockhampton Press. The same drawings were used for a Dutch translation in 1979. A second English edition was released in 1977 by Hodder. It was available in both hardback and paperback. The most recent edition was a paperback from the Hamlyn series, Beaver Books, in 1980. This version had new illustrations by John Spiers.