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Peanuts Coronet #12
Good Grief, Charlie Brown!
Trade Paperback filled with cartoons from the Snoopy comic strip.
128 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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195 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,028 books1,637 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.”
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 16, 2025
I love these early ones where the characters all look younger and Snoopy looks like a puppy and Linus is still a baby. Really enjoying revisiting these.
July 4, 2021
there is something so comforting in charlie brown being a loser. love that kid
April 18, 2022
Probably the first "book" I ever read, I think I was six...
July 27, 2015
heerlijk even lachen.
November 18, 2023
Soy muy fanático de Charlie Brown y de Peanuts, Y cuando vi que esto seguía en la tienda de segunda mano donde compro discos y libros, tenía que llevármelo. Me encantó haberlo hecho porque es demasiado divertido.
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La imaginación que tenía Schulz es impresionante y es adictivo leer estos cómics, se te pasan volando porque a parte de ser breves, son bonitos, reflexivos y el humor que presentan los niños van desde cosas muy infantiles como pensar que una piscina es un OVNI a Charlie Brown no queriendo demostrar la existencia de Santa porque es una cuestión teológica y puede ofender las creencias de los involucrados.
.
La imaginación que tenía Schulz es impresionante y es adictivo leer estos cómics, se te pasan volando porque a parte de ser breves, son bonitos, reflexivos y el humor que presentan los niños van desde cosas muy infantiles como pensar que una piscina es un OVNI a Charlie Brown no queriendo demostrar la existencia de Santa porque es una cuestión teológica y puede ofender las creencias de los involucrados.
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.
January 28, 2022
A classic collection from the early days of the Peanuts comic strip.
Charlie Brown and company might look a little different than you remember. The kids are sometimes harsher than they would become during the 1960s and '70s golden age of Schulz's creation too.
Yet this often results in some sharper humor. The jokes are frequently barbed and even Charlie Brown, Ol' Blockhead himself, gets in on them now and then.
Charlie Brown isn't the suffering everyman quite yet, Snoopy isn't Joe Cool, and Schulz hasn't fully mastered the tone of philosophic melancholy that would come to characterize his best work.
But greatness is already present here. This is some of Schulz's funniest material and you can already feel that he's created something indelible.
Charlie Brown and company might look a little different than you remember. The kids are sometimes harsher than they would become during the 1960s and '70s golden age of Schulz's creation too.
Yet this often results in some sharper humor. The jokes are frequently barbed and even Charlie Brown, Ol' Blockhead himself, gets in on them now and then.
Charlie Brown isn't the suffering everyman quite yet, Snoopy isn't Joe Cool, and Schulz hasn't fully mastered the tone of philosophic melancholy that would come to characterize his best work.
But greatness is already present here. This is some of Schulz's funniest material and you can already feel that he's created something indelible.
May 2, 2022
What a pleasure to read funny, short stories are simple and relatable because we can relate to these life experience snippets.
If you're looking for a quick getaway, this is one. It's not a boring superhero end of times redo.
It's simple life lessons wrapped up in 6 seconds tidbits.
Charles Schulz is a legend.
If you're looking for a quick getaway, this is one. It's not a boring superhero end of times redo.
It's simple life lessons wrapped up in 6 seconds tidbits.
Charles Schulz is a legend.
October 21, 2022
In 1966 Fawcett Crest printed the 17th edition of Charles M. Schulz’s “Those Loveable Peanuts: Good Grief Charlie Brown.” The 132 page book features black and white cartoons from the Fawcett World Library. The cartoons are interesting and many reflect American humor and social relationships of the 1960’s. (P)
October 5, 2023
I have a 1976 printing of this book. It contains two page strips, probably the weekend funnies, from the early to mid 1950s. Many of these show Linus as a very young non speaking child. The strip was already moving from sweet observations of children’s behaviour to something more surreal and full of social commentary. Classics.
June 29, 2025
I had a load of Peanuts/Charlie Brown books as a kid. I loved them dearly.
Sadly I can only remember a couple I actually owned from perusing the covers.
The fact I remembered this one suggests It was a good un so without any proof other than this it gets a 4* too.
Good grief.
Sadly I can only remember a couple I actually owned from perusing the covers.
The fact I remembered this one suggests It was a good un so without any proof other than this it gets a 4* too.
Good grief.
March 11, 2020
Very funny, I loved this as a kid!
Read
January 12, 2022BABY LINUS
August 12, 2022
I thought this collection was okay, I didn't find anything in it funny but I did appreciate the innocent nostalgic charm of the comics.
December 14, 2022
It's always fun to visit with the Peanuts gang, although in this one they do a little more ganging up on poor Charlie Brown.
December 27, 2023
Classic
February 28, 2025
I love these early ones where the characters all look younger and Snoopy looks like a puppy and Linus is still a baby. Really enjoying revisiting these.
May 22, 2010
I spent quite a lot of time drawing as a child. The Peanuts books which were being published, one after another, while I was in elementary school were attractive not only because of their humor but also because they were easy to copy.
When Mom, my brother and I took the HMS Milora from Duluth/Superior to Bremenhaven in '62, I brought along many of the Peanuts books I'd collected to that point and spent hours refining my technique until able to do a fair imitation of Schultz' work. This was before all the Great Pumpkin and Red Baron stuff as I recall, before the Peanuts Christmas show and the other stuff which, it seemed to me, broke the feeling I had of a special connection with the artist and with some of his characters, Charlie Brown and Linus in particular. (Oh, I admired Snoopy and he may have been my favorite, but he was too deep, too timelessly wise for me as a ten-year-old to identify with.)
When I got back to the States and to George Washington School in the fall I went about setting up an unofficial Peanuts club. Members were each associated with particular figures from the strip. I, the founder, was Charlie Brown. Generous to a fault, I actually saved up money and bought a miniature piano for our Linus figure. Lucy's role was taken by Nancy Stinton, the girl, six inches taller than me, of my heart's desire--already then, love was associated with dread failure.
When Mom, my brother and I took the HMS Milora from Duluth/Superior to Bremenhaven in '62, I brought along many of the Peanuts books I'd collected to that point and spent hours refining my technique until able to do a fair imitation of Schultz' work. This was before all the Great Pumpkin and Red Baron stuff as I recall, before the Peanuts Christmas show and the other stuff which, it seemed to me, broke the feeling I had of a special connection with the artist and with some of his characters, Charlie Brown and Linus in particular. (Oh, I admired Snoopy and he may have been my favorite, but he was too deep, too timelessly wise for me as a ten-year-old to identify with.)
When I got back to the States and to George Washington School in the fall I went about setting up an unofficial Peanuts club. Members were each associated with particular figures from the strip. I, the founder, was Charlie Brown. Generous to a fault, I actually saved up money and bought a miniature piano for our Linus figure. Lucy's role was taken by Nancy Stinton, the girl, six inches taller than me, of my heart's desire--already then, love was associated with dread failure.
May 5, 2010
Another of the Peanuts books that I recently discovered in a box. It opens with a typical cartoon (from early in the Peanuts history--the book was first published in 1952). 4 panels. In the first, Lucy asks Charlie Brown how he likes her new doll, which she has named after him. In the third panel, he walks away, saying "Yes, sir. . .That's very flattering." After Charlie Brown has walked away a distance, Lucy then kicks the doll, saying "Take that, Charlie Borwn," as he stands apart looking puzzled.
These are early versions of the characters, and they don't have the familiar look from the last decade or two of the comic strip. A nice collection of early cartoons. . . .
These are early versions of the characters, and they don't have the familiar look from the last decade or two of the comic strip. A nice collection of early cartoons. . . .
November 11, 2011
My father likes to make fun of my book collection. Now how do you think I got a copy of a book that's older than I am? Here's a hint: I've owned it for at least 30 years.
One of my favorite things about this book as a child is how different the characters look from the ones we're familiar with. And Snoopy is a puppy -- that was just awesome when I was a kid.
One of my favorite things about this book as a child is how different the characters look from the ones we're familiar with. And Snoopy is a puppy -- that was just awesome when I was a kid.
July 21, 2009
One of my favorite comics in this book is one where
Charlie brown looks at his calender and he's counting down the days until Spring. He runs outside and says "C'MON! LET'S PLAY BALL!!" And everybody is playing in the snow.
Charlie brown looks at his calender and he's counting down the days until Spring. He runs outside and says "C'MON! LET'S PLAY BALL!!" And everybody is playing in the snow.
January 1, 2018
Classic Peanuts
January 5, 2018
Everything about this book reminds me of my childhood. Lights out, nightlight on, reading under the covers. Couldn't get enough of this man's genius humor.
October 14, 2013
Solid comic strips from Charles Schulz, again from the fifties era. Not a lot of laugh-out-loud gags, but plenty of still recognizable pre-teen agnst situations we can all relate to even today.
June 13, 2016
I'm reading a lot of these books today, but this one is by far my favorite -- it's the early Schulz drawings, and all the characters are incredibly cute.
January 24, 2023
I like how very different Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang looked when Peanuts first started out.
April 15, 2017
I finally get the fandom around Peanuts. Well played Schulz, well played.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews