Chapter 1

The grey clouds glided peacefully across the setting sky revealing the golden glow of the sunset, silhouetting the town in the distance. Meanwhile in the houses below people were settling down in front of their fires.  Suddenly Josh caught sight of his watch glistening in the fading light.

“Quickly Grace we need to get home. Mum will have our tea ready!”

Adding the final touches to the snowmans’s face, Grace turned to Josh, “I can’t believe the last two hours have gone so quickly. At least our snowman is finished.”

Reluctantly, Grace grabbed her brother’s hand and the two children began their walk home. They had raced to the snow covered field after school with only one thing on their minds. Grace glanced longingly at their magnificent snowman standing proudly on the horizon and felt sad to be leaving him all alone. The crunching sound of their young footsteps filled the air as the children continued on their journey.

“What was that?” whispered Josh stopping dead in his tracks. A blanket of fear and panic swept over his face. Grace too became aware of an eerie sound hanging in the night sky. It sounded like sobbing. It surely couldn’t be the snowman?

Chapter 2

Josh and Grace decided to continue walking because the air had turned cold and they feared what their mum might say if they returned any later for their tea. The wind was whipping their faces, making their cheeks glow bright red and causing their eyes to stream uncontrollably.

Once again, a noise stopped them in their tracks. It was impossible, but the children were sure that the noise was coming from the snowman. It sounded like a harrowing howl echoing through the air swirling above them. As the snow began to fall, they decided that they could no longer resist the temptation so they turned around to investigate the mysterious noise. The snow was not a glistening snow but rather a thick cruel snow that fell heavily from the grey sky. They began to walk back towards the snowman in the shivering cold. The blizzard got worse and worse as they trudged through the snow covered field.

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea!” shouted Grace.

But Josh simply said, “We are going to see what that sound is,”

Grace vanished into the frozen snow. Josh fell to his knees and his face hit the snow. He tried to get up but the snow was too deep!

“Help!” he wailed. By that stage Grace was too far away to hear him. Josh pulled himself away from the grip of the snow but hit something icy and hard in front of him. Josh recognised the feeling on his hands and it sent a shiver down his spine.  “The snowman!” he shrieked.

 Chapter 3

 Josh stopped suddenly.  “What are you doing here?” he asked quietly. His legs were shaking like leaves spinning round in the wind.

“I’m your snowman and I’m ALIVE!!!” explained the icicle-fingered snowman shivering like a vibrating rattlesnake. Josh turned to run home to find Grace to tell her what was happening. He slipped.  The icy ground was as slippery as a shiny wet glass mirror that somebody has spilt water over. He ran as fast as he could. The snowman ran speeding after him. Josh ran faster. So did the snowman! He could hear him behind, his feet splodging in the sloshy snow, his panting breath like a lion chasing his prey. He felt the snowman’s cold breath shimmering on his neck.

What was he going to do? How could he get away?  Suddenly he tripped over a piece of sharp ice in the centre of the wet, icy path.

He called  “Help!”.  The snowman calmly picked him up. He wanted to show Josh that he wasn’t going to hurt him. Josh was making a funny noise…a rumbling sound.

“Please help me” he said. “I’m caught in a magical spell. I come from the Land of Giant Snowmen. An evil wizard with a snow white beard has been stalking us. When he saw you building your snowman he shrank me smaller and put me inside it by sending me through a portal in space. I can never be free on myown.”

The snowman cried sadly with drops of ice falling from his eyes.

“Will you help me get home? I miss my friends so much and they’ll be wondering where I’m gone!”

Suddenly a whirlwind of snow appeared in the middle of the bumpy, white field.

“Watch out” shouted the snowman in haunted voice. “It’s him!”

Chapter 4

“It’s the wizard!” yelled the snowman. Josh’s face went white with fear, as white as the snow that had been falling heavily all day. The wizard was like nothing Josh had ever seen. He had bony, twisted fingers and a pale ghostly face which sent shivers down Josh’s spine. His face was cruel and evil, with a sly clown-like smile plastered across it. As Josh looked at the wizard’s beard it seemed to be wriggling as if it was made of sickly green snakes.

The wizard looked up at Josh and hissed, “Give me that snowman! I am trying to capture all of the Giant Snowmen so that I can finally be the king of Giant Snowman Land”.

Just then, as quick as lightning, the wizard waved his magical wand at Josh and the snowman and began to chant a deathly spell.

“Ziggedy Zaggedy, Zoggedy, Zoom. Now prepare to meet your doom”.

Suddenly, a huge flash of light shot out of his wand but before it could hit them, Josh, who was feeling heroic, pulled a mirror out of his pocket and reflected the spell back at the cunning wizard.

“RUN!” screamed Josh “QUICK!” And they ran as fast as cheetahs through the crunchy, freezing snow.

“Where are we going?” asked Josh.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan”, whispered the snowman as he smiled quietly. “In here” he muttered and his voice echoed through a dark, gloomy cave. Slowly, they crept in.

“What are we doing in here?” asked Josh.

“It’s the only safe place I could think of to show you this” said the snowman as he took off his tatty, battered hat and produced a glittering snow-globe, glowing eerily in the dark cave.

“I stole this from that cunning wizard earlier today” he said proudly.

“What on earth do we do with that? How can it possibly help us?” Josh replied breathlessly.

The snowman explained that the snow-globe was a magical object and would transport you anywhere you wanted to go.

“We need to go to where that ghastly wizard lives and stop him once and for all” the snowman said determinedly.

Josh and the snowman held hands and began shaking the magical snow-globe.

Chapter 5

“Go to the cruel wizard’s frozen castle!” the Snowman commanded.

In a flash they appeared at a gloomy, icy castle. As they looked at it they began to dread going inside but they knew they had no choice. “C-c-c-come on Josh, let’s g-g-g-g-go” the snowman stuttered nervously. “I know you’re scared but we have t-t-t-to.”

They crept silently towards the castle knowing that there was a chance they would never escape this forbidden place. When they eventually looked up they spotted long, sharp icicles dangling from the high ceiling and just at that moment they heard a huge booming voice calling “Who dares trespass in my lair?” A ghostly figure emerged from the creepy darkness; Josh screamed “It’s a ghost, help!” But the Snowman just walked calmly on as he was determined to stop the wizard once and for all.

Suddenly the wizard swept in and Josh felt an icy shiver run down his spine as the wizard began to chant a ghastly spell. Josh was sure that this was his end!

“Rusty, rusty something rusty. I order my spell to make you frosty!” Another yellow blinding flash of light shot speedily from the wizard’s wand but as before Josh cleverly whipped out his trusty mirror and the spell flew back into the wizard’s glaring, black eyes! It froze him immediately, but not all of him, his wand lay wriggling on the icy floor.

The snowman quickly grabbed the dangerous wand which nobody dared touch when in the evil grip of the wizard. Nervously, the snowman demanded

“Frosty spell, please make this wizard freeze for all his life so everyone can be cheerful again.”

The spell reached out and wrapped the wizard in a case of never melting ice. Josh felt exhausted, they had won and he couldn’t believe his eyes as the Snowman lifted him high into the vast sky in celebration! The Snowman turned to Josh and whispered “I could not have done it without you; the Snowmen owe you their lives in return!”

Josh felt so proud of himself but he could not help to begin to think of Grace and his home. The Snowman interrupted his thoughts, asking him “Come join us Josh, there will be the most amazing celebration in honour of you and your quick thinking!” Josh thought carefully as he gazed around the mesmerising ice world. The Snowman looked at Josh and realised that Josh had to go home. The kind Snowman gently clasped Josh’s trembling hand and he quietly said “Take Josh home,” as he shook the magic snow globe.

Josh landed on the soft snowy ground in his garden with a bump. In a hazy blur Josh could see the silhouette of the Snowman disappear. Excitedly, Josh raced inside and hugged his mother tightly and thought “Oh, such a day I have had!”

by Year 2 pupils from Collis, Sheen Mount, Trafalgar Infant, Stanley and Lowther primary schools