Raymond Briggs, the author and illustrator behind 1978 children's classic The Snowman, has died aged 88.
His publisher Penguin Random House confirmed he passed away yesterday morning leaving an "extraordinary legacy.”
In a statement, Raymond’s family say his books touched millions of people around the world.
The 1978 book - which was turned into a TV short and Christmas classic - has sold 5-and-a-half-million copies around the world.
Raymond Briggs also created other classic graphic novels, like Father Christmas and When the Wind Blows - a book written during the Cold War, which imagined a nuclear attack on the UK.
