What do you think?
Rate this book
Peanuts Coronet #14
Nobody's Perfect Charlie Brown
Book by Charles M. Schulz
126 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
89 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,026 books1,654 followersCharles Monroe Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 6, 2017
Uno de mis amores más constantes :)
March 11, 2020
If you love Linus, you'll love this book because there are many comic strips featuring him and his beloved. trusty blanket.
July 20, 2015
Never fails to make me laugh, it's time to open up the old snoopy DVDs and have a good evening!
May 14, 2022
Mi padre leía pocos tebeos, pero de los peanuts tenía por lo menos quince libros en sus estanterías. En el proceso natural de absorción y descarte de las estanterías de mi padre descubrí a Charlie Brown, el antihéroe, y a Snoopy y a Woodstock, héroes peculiares, y a Linus y su manta, y a Schroeder y su piano, y a Lucy, enamorada de Schroeder, y a Patty y a Sally, y a todos los demás. De trazo simple, con líneas argumentales que oscilaban entre una y doscientas tiras, Charles Schulz creó durante 50 años (solo Ibáñez ha sido más prolífico durante más tiempo) un pequeño universo al que he vuelto alguna vez, para comprobar con gusto que, si bien ya no me llama como antes, no ha envejecido mal.
Hay tantas tiras (más de 18.000 en 50 años, se dice pronto) que, como dicen de los Simpson, toda cosa que pase ha salido ya probablemente en una tira de Charlie Brown. Las leí sobre todo entre mis 10 y mis 15 años, pero cuando me he cruzado con alguna en años posteriores ha seguido aguantando el tipo y, por supuesto, se aprecian má mensajes destinados al adulto. La maravilla de las cosas bien hechas, que apelan a todos los públicos. Altamente recomendable.
Hay tantas tiras (más de 18.000 en 50 años, se dice pronto) que, como dicen de los Simpson, toda cosa que pase ha salido ya probablemente en una tira de Charlie Brown. Las leí sobre todo entre mis 10 y mis 15 años, pero cuando me he cruzado con alguna en años posteriores ha seguido aguantando el tipo y, por supuesto, se aprecian má mensajes destinados al adulto. La maravilla de las cosas bien hechas, que apelan a todos los públicos. Altamente recomendable.
May 12, 2022
Included in this book: the Peanuts gang being philosophical again, Charlie Brown and baseball failures, Linus losing his blanket (Lucy sent it on a nationwide tour by turning it into a kite), Sally attending kindergarten for the first time, Snoopy dancing, the Great Pumpkin dialogues and many other really sharp, insightful and wise comments made about society through the lens of small children.
April 6, 2018
It was ok, quick read.
October 2, 2018
This ended too soon. I'm getting addicted with these characters
August 14, 2020
...but this book is 🥰🥰
Linus and his blanket !! ☺️
Linus and his blanket !! ☺️
October 7, 2023
need to watch the pumpkin movie
January 17, 2026
Another great Peanuts collection.
Read
June 13, 2011My copy has this cover picture, with a yellow background. I don't know if the background color varied in this edition, or if this is a different edition.
These strips come from You Can Do It, Charlie Brown, Vol I. I actually got it for a little LESS than the cover price.
This is the book that claims a copyright date of 962. I kinda suspect this is a misprint.
Linus became quite a disciple of his ophthalmologist in this period, appearing to regard him as the fountain of all wisdom. This also includes the saga of Linus' blanket, made into a kite by Lucy, and swept away for quite an odyssey.
I have to admit to having no idea who 'McCovey' was, and why he should have hit the ball a few feet higher. 'Lt Carpenter', however, is probably Scott Carpenter, the Mercury astronaut.
This also includes Linus introducing Sally to the story of the Great Pumpkin.
These strips come from You Can Do It, Charlie Brown, Vol I. I actually got it for a little LESS than the cover price.
This is the book that claims a copyright date of 962. I kinda suspect this is a misprint.
Linus became quite a disciple of his ophthalmologist in this period, appearing to regard him as the fountain of all wisdom. This also includes the saga of Linus' blanket, made into a kite by Lucy, and swept away for quite an odyssey.
I have to admit to having no idea who 'McCovey' was, and why he should have hit the ball a few feet higher. 'Lt Carpenter', however, is probably Scott Carpenter, the Mercury astronaut.
This also includes Linus introducing Sally to the story of the Great Pumpkin.
April 29, 2009
The funny thing is, the most memorable parts of this book were the Linus stories: the Great Pumpkin and the epic of his blanket :D
June 1, 2009
No estoy seguro de poner alguna vez menos de 5 estrellas a un libro de Charles Schulz. Tampoco aspiro a ser completamente objetivo, la verdad. ¡Es Peanuts!
January 23, 2015
Classic Peanuts
July 18, 2015
A nice quick bath time read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews