The Snow Spider Trilogy

Story

Life has been hard for Gwyn and his family since his sister went missing. On Gwyn’s ninth birthday his grandmother gives him five gifts: a piece of seaweed, a yellow scarf, a tin whistle, a twisted metal brooch and a small, broken horse. She tells him it is time to find out if he is a magician, like his ancestors.

Why we chose it

Three beautifully told stories full of magic and myth and ancient folklore

Where it came from

This book was inspired by Welsh myths and legends. Before writing full-time, Jenny Nimmo (1944 - ) worked in the theatre and for the BBC, on a children’s television programme all about stories called Jackanory.

Where it went next

The Snow Spider won the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize and also the Welsh Tir na n-Og award. It and the other books in the trilogy were adapted for television and the programmes were shown between 1988 and 1991. In October 2019 it was announced that there is to be a new five-part drama, to be broadcast on CBBC and BBC Wales in 2020.

Associated stories

Another well-known series by Jenny Nimmo is the Children of the Red King series (or the Charlie Bone series), the first of which is called Midnight for Charlie Bone (2002). She has also written books for younger children including the stories about Delilah, Delilah and the Dogspell (1991), Delilah and the Dishwasher Dogs (1993) and Delilah Alone (1995).