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The Bumper Book of Peanuts
Charles Schulz's Peanuts strips and characters are loved internationally, appealing to fans young and old since they first appeared in the 1950s. The Bumper Book of Peanuts takes us back to the golden age of Peanuts, gathering the very best of the strip from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Packed with strips featuring Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty and the rest of the beloved gang, this beautifully produced bumper collection is sure to delight Peanuts fans of all generations.
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
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74 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,037 books1,631 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
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November 10, 2025my favourite is any of them with woodstock in it
November 4, 2016
Reading this book we are left with a sense of worldliness and understanding of how we see ourselves.
I’m sure many young boys can relate to Charlie Brown and how nothing goes right for him in everything he does. Charlie keeps trying no matter how hard he finds the task, but in the end, he rationalises his place in the world and keeps trying.
When Charles Schulz devised the character, Snoopy did he understand he was creating a masterpiece. This little dog reminds me of James Thurber’s character Walter Mitty. Snoopy imagines himself as the great WW1 pilot who fights the infamous Red Baron. He is also a great golfer, baseball player, dancer, and author. This little dog as endeared himself to millions who tuned in day after day to check on the latest comic strip.
Over the years we cannot get enough of Woodstock, the angry Lucy, the talented Linus, Peppermint Patty and all of the gang.
It was fantastic to read this book that took me back to many happy moments that set up my day as I read about all the characters in Peanuts. It didn’t matter what was going to happen I was able to laugh to start the day.
I recommend this book for all those who want to understand how the world works in all its disappointments and achievements.
I’m sure many young boys can relate to Charlie Brown and how nothing goes right for him in everything he does. Charlie keeps trying no matter how hard he finds the task, but in the end, he rationalises his place in the world and keeps trying.
When Charles Schulz devised the character, Snoopy did he understand he was creating a masterpiece. This little dog reminds me of James Thurber’s character Walter Mitty. Snoopy imagines himself as the great WW1 pilot who fights the infamous Red Baron. He is also a great golfer, baseball player, dancer, and author. This little dog as endeared himself to millions who tuned in day after day to check on the latest comic strip.
Over the years we cannot get enough of Woodstock, the angry Lucy, the talented Linus, Peppermint Patty and all of the gang.
It was fantastic to read this book that took me back to many happy moments that set up my day as I read about all the characters in Peanuts. It didn’t matter what was going to happen I was able to laugh to start the day.
I recommend this book for all those who want to understand how the world works in all its disappointments and achievements.
November 15, 2020
A 400-page hardcover collection. Schulz remains sublime but the editors’ selections are bewildering. Strips are grouped by category and, within this, seemingly at random or by arbitrary word-search. Dailies are plucked out of context from ongoing storylines. Some strips even appear twice.
December 24, 2025
i love you charlie brown i really do. i love linus and snoopy and all the lovely boys and girls in these stories and i am thankful for this collection of panels, though it did cost me a pretty penny to buy.
May 13, 2017
Peanuts is a joy to read. The characters are familiar, well-developed with personalities that is unforgettable. Having Peanuts around is a privilege.
I will read more of them as I grow older.
I will read more of them as I grow older.
December 15, 2018
It's steadyseller. story is very cosy and adorable story. but it's so hard to read by oasis.
January 21, 2019
A collection of comic strips featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. :)
December 10, 2020
Such a joy to read , always loved the humour in the snoopy comic strips and loved how it took me back to the simplicity of childhood ... a must for any peanuts fan wanting a trip down memory lane
August 30, 2021
Such a joy to read always loved the humour in the snoopy comic strips and loved how it took me back to the simplicity of childhood… a must for any peanuts fan wanting a trip down memory lane
March 1, 2016
Timeless classic, genius in its simplicity but also subtly complex! It is possible for anyone of any age to pick up Peanuts and instantly understand and relate to its World. I would also challenge anyone to read through without raising a smile or twenty! This volume presents a nice selection of strips but I feel they could have been arranged better, especially as some strips which were obviously part of a series are split across different categories throughout the book. Not my first foray into the World of Charlie Brown, Snoopy & co. and certainly not my last.
April 18, 2016
brilliant stuff from good ol' Charlie Brown and the rest of the peanuts gang,touches on a range of subjects from auugh to Z with all the peanuts subjects loved by everyone such as baseball,Valentine's,kite eating tree,The cat next door,five cents please,good grief,the great pumpkin,Joe cool,the red baron and show and tell,will definitely be seeking out the complete collection volumes after reading this
January 16, 2016
I'd forgotten, if I ever really knew, just how good Peanuts was. It's just so charming, so funny, so sad, so human and just so perfect. This book was very cheap, however like all drugs it's easy to get hooked and I feel I'll have to now move on to the hard stuff, all 25 vols of The Complete Peanuts I can hear you calling to me...
May 8, 2016
This is a montage of best bits from the whole of Schultz's works, so there are repetitions if you own the set of complete works, however for someone looking for a Peanuts coffee table book to dip in and out of for a bit of light relief this is perfect.
February 2, 2016
Beautifully presented collection featuring the best of the best strips. I cannot get around to collecting the whole Fantagraphics collections, so the mainly late 60s to early 90s strips complements sufficiently with my 1950 - 1960 collections.
April 24, 2016
Returning to the both comfortingly simple and yet thought-provoking philosophical outlook of these strange prodigy-type children and their dog, whom I first saw on the TV when I was three, was a much-needed experience.
December 29, 2015
Absolutely loooove me some Peanuts.
January 4, 2016
Perfection.
July 18, 2016
Favorite chapters: “Aaugh!”, “Beethoven”, “Five cents please!”, “Typewriter” and “Yes Ma’am”.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews