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Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Peanuts
The cast of Peanuts® characters has entertained us with their humorously insightful perspectives since 1950. A year-long marketing campaign by licensor United Media launched this Diamond Anniversary and creates the perfect setting for Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Peanuts®.
This small, hardcover book with all the gift appeal of a box of chocolates shows us why, in the sixty years since its debut, everything you need to know to get through life has been summed up by the gang from Peanuts. Within these pages, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, and the rest impart their thoughts on friendship, music, love, food, baseball, proper grooming, and a host of other subjects through artwork and text from original Peanuts comic strips.
“When your life has been ruined, you should lie under a tree all afternoon.”—Charlie Brown on Nature
“Never set your stomach for a jelly-bread sandwich until you’re sure there’s some jelly.”—Linus on Nutrition
“It’s a scientific fact that girls are smarter than boys.”—Lucy on Advanced Biology
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,023 books1,636 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 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 19, 2019
A very quick read. Only 1 or 2 particularly funny strips. Overall, very nostalgic but nothing special.
June 15, 2021
The book is so beautiful. Cannot say it’s all funny It’s humor but there are many funny lines. Good for a quick read when you are board or when you want to look at the world in different perspective ;) It’s a cute little book and I give one star for the printing too. 🤩
December 1, 2019
“Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Peanuts” By Charles M. Schulz taught me about everything I need to know about life in a very funny way and that's why I love it. Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the peanuts gang work together to teach us how to do stuff in life like how to get a free lunch or how to make friends. I recommend this book to all the people that love The Peanuts series.
February 8, 2022
Literally read this in 15 minutes… might be cheating the system. But it was a super fun and lighthearted read, and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times. As much as it was probably written for 5th graders, it had some truth to it and it never hurts to read kiddie graphic novels like this :)
July 24, 2019
Money would be better spent buying a real Peanuts comic book and drawing one’s own rules from the book.
This was all right, but nothing special.
This was all right, but nothing special.
June 20, 2021
Facts. Just facts.
January 9, 2026
Cute and nostalgic compilation.
May 14, 2019
I felt like this could have been put together with a lot more care. A decent into to Peanuts perhaps?
June 27, 2022
I've been in the worst reading slump so I decided I need to sit down and read a book all the way through. So I chose this one, and I must say I am extremely glad I did, while it isn't the longest book it's made me laugh out loud a dozen times. Additionally, it made me realized how much I relate to Snoopy on a spiritual level. This book has such gems as:
●"I gave up trying to understand people long ago. Now I just let them try and understand me."
●"The world can't come to an End Today because it is already tomorrow in some other part of the world."
●"I've learned all I need to know to live under a bed."
All in all, it indeed is a cute book. I definitely recommend if you need a laugh or like I just need a book to finished to feel like you slowly crawling out of your reading slump.
●"I gave up trying to understand people long ago. Now I just let them try and understand me."
●"The world can't come to an End Today because it is already tomorrow in some other part of the world."
●"I've learned all I need to know to live under a bed."
All in all, it indeed is a cute book. I definitely recommend if you need a laugh or like I just need a book to finished to feel like you slowly crawling out of your reading slump.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2014
Snoopy rules. Lots of great pearls of wisdom.
July 1, 2016
So sooo cute
June 24, 2022
I love Charlie Brown. I have read all the collections including those when the gang was toddlers. This book is a collection of strips and “pearls of wisdom” from the characters. It was funny and sweet. A good pick me up for a summer afternoon.
October 7, 2023
What's not to love? I grew up with Peanuts, before the world went nuts. When someone could be named "Pigpen" because he was dirty, and someone could be called "Blockhead" when someone else thought he did something dumb. And when everyone knew that dogs had germs. I miss those days.
September 21, 2017
Quick and painless. You have to just love The Peanuts. Made me smile. This book was a birthday gift.
November 19, 2017
Not enough for big fans of PEANUTS...
Besides, it is too much expensive in Japanese currency...
Besides, it is too much expensive in Japanese currency...
July 24, 2018
Laughed hysterically especially at Snoopy’s rejection letters.
July 20, 2019
Not much to it. One page says "the importance of blank" and the next page is one comic strip.
September 25, 2019
Life Lessons Indeed! Enjoyed every bit of it! <3
December 25, 2019
This was a gift and it is a perfect gift for a Peanuts fan. If you want to put a smile on your face and a quick read, then this is for you.
January 21, 2020
It’s hard to give anything less than 5 stars to the Peanuts
February 12, 2020
A simple and enjoyable read. :)
July 3, 2020
I'm not the world's biggest Peanuts fan. But if you are, this book is the one for you. It organizes some Peanuts comic sections by topic to make it easy to reference.
September 14, 2022
I've loved the Peanuts gang all my life. This was an easy, fun read
January 15, 2023
"The secret of happiness is having three things to look forward to, and nothing to dread."
February 20, 2023
Loved it! I grew up reading Peanuts and as a teenager, reading it made me forget how bored I was feeling whenever I had absolutely nothing to do on some weekends.
June 28, 2023
Some good strips with simple life lessons throughout. If you’re looking for a good Peanuts collection, I would advise you to look elsewhere, but this book is an okay distraction for an afternoon.
June 20, 2024
cute!
January 3, 2025
Some cartoon scenes made me smile.
February 17, 2025
Delightful! Just plain entertaining and subtly insightful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews