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Peanuts Coronet #17
Hey, Peanuts!
Which one is the real Charlie Schulz?
To tell the truth we're not sure. Some people say that cartoonists always draw themselves, and it is true that Charlie Brown - the round-headed little boy who heads up the Peanuts cast - is in many ways only a younger version of his creator.
Although big Charlie was once elected "Cartoonist of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society, he never won so much as a vote of confidence during his early years. Schulz was, according to his biographers, much like Charlie Brown, the only kid in the world who lost 10,000 checkers games in a row. But also like his pen-and-ink alter ego, he never admitted defeat.
Now, as the proud father of those lovable, irresistible, totally unpredictable brainchildren known as the Peanuts bunch, Charlie Schulz has proved himself a regular genius. He has not only sketched his way to fame and fortune, but has the counterpart of the Peanuts gang in his own real life in California where he resides happily with his wife, five children and an assortment of livestock ranging from horses to rabbits.
Good Grief, everybody?
To tell the truth we're not sure. Some people say that cartoonists always draw themselves, and it is true that Charlie Brown - the round-headed little boy who heads up the Peanuts cast - is in many ways only a younger version of his creator.
Although big Charlie was once elected "Cartoonist of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society, he never won so much as a vote of confidence during his early years. Schulz was, according to his biographers, much like Charlie Brown, the only kid in the world who lost 10,000 checkers games in a row. But also like his pen-and-ink alter ego, he never admitted defeat.
Now, as the proud father of those lovable, irresistible, totally unpredictable brainchildren known as the Peanuts bunch, Charlie Schulz has proved himself a regular genius. He has not only sketched his way to fame and fortune, but has the counterpart of the Peanuts gang in his own real life in California where he resides happily with his wife, five children and an assortment of livestock ranging from horses to rabbits.
Good Grief, everybody?
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
1 person is currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,040 books1,634 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 11, 2025
I purchased a bunch of these Peanuts books from a thrift store recently. I had a lot of them when I was a kid and I’m sure it’s why I love Peanuts to this day. I loved the gentle humor and gentle sarcasm of this book and I’m looking forward to revisiting more of these little gems from my childhood.
October 12, 2013
Another Peanuts classic. I got this book long, long, long ago and it has traveled with me from one place to another through many moves. What can you say about Charles M. Schulz and his creations...funny, sometimes a little sad, always wise...I love Peanuts. Another charm here, all I have to do is begin reading these and I'm immediately transported back to a time when "we" as children wandered all day outside in worlds we created and didn't fear abduction, murder or molestation (mostly). Yes there were kids who's home life was a horror, but not so many as now. Yes bad things happened, but they really were few and far between.
This won't be true for all who read these books, but they will still get the laughs and the wisdom in them.
I think most will enjoy any of the Peanuts books.
This won't be true for all who read these books, but they will still get the laughs and the wisdom in them.
I think most will enjoy any of the Peanuts books.
January 11, 2013
I added the Charlie Brown books on my list because my Grandfather would give them to me after he read them. Used to love Peanuts. And my Grandfather. To this day, it's hard to seperate the two.
May 12, 2010
Illustrative cartoon. Frame 1: Schroeder telling Charlie Brown, as an inning in a baseball game ends: "Boy, I'm glad that's over." Charlie Brown responds: "I didn't think we'd ever get 'em out." Schroeder: "Sixty-three runs in the very first inning." Finally, Brown: "There goes our shutout."
In short, classic Peanuts. This was originally published in 1952--one of the earlier volumes of collected cartoons. However, the work of Charles Schulz still works!
In short, classic Peanuts. This was originally published in 1952--one of the earlier volumes of collected cartoons. However, the work of Charles Schulz still works!
June 20, 2020
Return, my friends, to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when Charlie Brown was a mere lad of six (mere being the key word), when Schroeder was starting his obsession with Beethoven, when Snoopy couldn't talk thru thought-balloons, and when Lucy was much more badass. When Charlie lost a straight ten thousand games of checkers. When Snoopy guarded the doorway with his big ears and plenty of attitude. When Charlie loved Patty BEFORE there ever was a PEPPERMINT PATTY. And much more in this little book of Charles Schulz' early Peanuts strips, showing how the gang started, and harkening of bigger things to come in later strips.
Four stars
Hey Peanuts! You guys rock!!#
Four stars
Hey Peanuts! You guys rock!!#
January 18, 2020
These older snoopy cartoons are so cute. Linus is still really a baby. And the kids are adorable. The girls talk about Charlie Brown (He's a good man) and Lucy continues to show how her character developed. This book involves a lot of checkers.
March 21, 2018
Great collection of older strips.
November 30, 2022
The older Peanuts are extremely funny and charming!!!!
October 29, 2023
Hilarious!
December 19, 2023
the love i have for older peanuts before they got aged up is immense this was so fun and so enjoyable
June 3, 2024
Schulz is the best!
September 7, 2024
As much as I am impressed by the
creativity, ingenuity and artistic talents
of Charles Schulz, the emotional
cruelty in some of these cartoons really
appalls me.
And the fact that many people find
this amusing really appalls me too.
creativity, ingenuity and artistic talents
of Charles Schulz, the emotional
cruelty in some of these cartoons really
appalls me.
And the fact that many people find
this amusing really appalls me too.
February 24, 2013
I thought I had read every Peanuts cartoon and book compilation as a kid, but I picked this up at an estate sale yesterday and was pleased to not recognize most of these. I had heard that the earlier Peanuts cartoon strips portrayed Charlie Brown as more self assured and in this book it definitely shows. It is kind of refreshing.
For example:
First panel Patty (no peppermint, interesting) - "Boy are you ever a flop!! You can't do anything!" Charlie Brown is just standing there, expressionless.
Second panel - "You can't even run fast! And you're a terrible baseball player! You're not good at anything! You're a flop!!"
Third panel - Patty walks away; Charlie Brown has an enigmatic look on his face.
Fourth panel - Charlie Brown speaks for the first time, Patty is no longer in the panel, Charlie Brown is smiling while shouting, holding up his finger in the sign that he is making a point, "My mother likes me.."
For example:
First panel Patty (no peppermint, interesting) - "Boy are you ever a flop!! You can't do anything!" Charlie Brown is just standing there, expressionless.
Second panel - "You can't even run fast! And you're a terrible baseball player! You're not good at anything! You're a flop!!"
Third panel - Patty walks away; Charlie Brown has an enigmatic look on his face.
Fourth panel - Charlie Brown speaks for the first time, Patty is no longer in the panel, Charlie Brown is smiling while shouting, holding up his finger in the sign that he is making a point, "My mother likes me.."
April 16, 2023
Our parents bought a few of these books by Charles M. Schulz for us kids to read, and admittedly, they read them, too. One by one, each one of us kids bought other editions one-by-one, and soon we had a fairly good library. These comics are simple but packed well with humor and food for thought.
I enjoy the clean and poignant humor.
✿▬✿●✿▬✿
I enjoy the clean and poignant humor.
✿▬✿●✿▬✿
October 17, 2011
I actually still have this old paperback. It's a little crinkled at the edges--from being read about a million times!--but the pages are still there, and so are the laughs.
April 6, 2013
I liked it. I liked Charlie Brown and Snoopy because they were funny.
February 5, 2017
Good stuff. My very first Peanuts book, and still have it. Labelled 50 cents! I must have read this over & over when I was a kid, as nearly every page was familiar.
November 2, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this book!
November 12, 2024
A somewhat generous 2.3 stars.
A few really good cartoons and a
few very negative ones.
A few really good cartoons and a
few very negative ones.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews