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Countdown to Christmas! with a Story a Day
Get into the Christmas spirit with the Peanuts gang in this joyful collection of twenty-five stories—one for every day of December from the first through the twenty-fifth—with original illustrations and foil on the cover!
This collection of Peanuts stories celebrates everything wonderful about the Christmas season—writing Christmas cards, shopping for presents, going to holiday parties, going sledding, drinking hot cocoa, and baking cookies for Santa! There’s a story for each day of the month to make the wait go faster!
© 2021 Peanuts Worldwide LLC
This collection of Peanuts stories celebrates everything wonderful about the Christmas season—writing Christmas cards, shopping for presents, going to holiday parties, going sledding, drinking hot cocoa, and baking cookies for Santa! There’s a story for each day of the month to make the wait go faster!
© 2021 Peanuts Worldwide LLC
64 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2021
48 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,037 books1,633 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 18, 2021
See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS!: WITH A STORY A DAY is a delightful collection of holiday-themed stories from the Peanuts. With recognizable characters, the book features a short story for each day of December, leading up to the 25th. The stories include writing letters to Santa, baking cookies, gift exchanges, and so much more. Although each day is an individual story, they all contribute to the getting into the holiday spirit.
What I loved: This is a delightful collection of stories that really helps children and their parents to get into the holiday mood one day at a time. The stories contain many recognizable holiday traditions, but with the Peanuts spin on the stories, including misunderstandings, friendship gestures, and sibling squabbles, as they lead the way through December. With a story for each day, this type of collection is great for an Advent-style countdown to the holiday and will give parents a new bedtime story for each day of December up to Christmas, which is helpful to add some variety into the reading routines.
The repeating characters throughout the book are great for young children to recognize and make it all the more fun. The favorites in our house are definitely the stories featuring Snoopy and Woodstock, who always have the cutest antics. Although they are not linearly connected, the holiday theme joins them all together (also, no cliffhangers).
Each story features at least one large, brightly-colored illustrated scene, and though not every page has an illustration, they do represent the story well. Children will love seeing the characters featured in the story along with fun details as they are read aloud. Furthermore, the font in which each story is printed is large and easy to read, clear even in the dim light of bedtime.
Final verdict: A great choice for variety at bedtime or just as a special counting down treat, COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS!: WITH A STORY A DAY is a delightful collection of stories to get readers into the holiday spirit. Recommend for preschool and elementary school aged readers.
Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS!: WITH A STORY A DAY is a delightful collection of holiday-themed stories from the Peanuts. With recognizable characters, the book features a short story for each day of December, leading up to the 25th. The stories include writing letters to Santa, baking cookies, gift exchanges, and so much more. Although each day is an individual story, they all contribute to the getting into the holiday spirit.
What I loved: This is a delightful collection of stories that really helps children and their parents to get into the holiday mood one day at a time. The stories contain many recognizable holiday traditions, but with the Peanuts spin on the stories, including misunderstandings, friendship gestures, and sibling squabbles, as they lead the way through December. With a story for each day, this type of collection is great for an Advent-style countdown to the holiday and will give parents a new bedtime story for each day of December up to Christmas, which is helpful to add some variety into the reading routines.
The repeating characters throughout the book are great for young children to recognize and make it all the more fun. The favorites in our house are definitely the stories featuring Snoopy and Woodstock, who always have the cutest antics. Although they are not linearly connected, the holiday theme joins them all together (also, no cliffhangers).
Each story features at least one large, brightly-colored illustrated scene, and though not every page has an illustration, they do represent the story well. Children will love seeing the characters featured in the story along with fun details as they are read aloud. Furthermore, the font in which each story is printed is large and easy to read, clear even in the dim light of bedtime.
Final verdict: A great choice for variety at bedtime or just as a special counting down treat, COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS!: WITH A STORY A DAY is a delightful collection of stories to get readers into the holiday spirit. Recommend for preschool and elementary school aged readers.
Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
December 4, 2024
It’s cute! It has some stories mentioned from the cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas, which is one of my favorite cartoon Christmas shows. A young child (who’s starting to read or is reading, about 4-10 years old) would probably enjoy this book.
December 25, 2024
A Peanuts Christmas Countdown
This was a little sort of Advent Calendar, with a Peanuts vignette for the 25 days. Each day a short story with different characters having fun. Easy to recommend for all ages, if you are a fan of the comic strip.
This was a little sort of Advent Calendar, with a Peanuts vignette for the 25 days. Each day a short story with different characters having fun. Easy to recommend for all ages, if you are a fan of the comic strip.
December 30, 2025
Wonderful!
I really enjoyed reading these short stories each day in December. It was like a literary advent calendar. It was easy to hear my favorite characters voices as they celebrated the season. I would highly recommend this wonderful collection.
I really enjoyed reading these short stories each day in December. It was like a literary advent calendar. It was easy to hear my favorite characters voices as they celebrated the season. I would highly recommend this wonderful collection.
December 15, 2021
Santa Snoopy
A cute and wonderful book to read to your kids during the holidays.
A cute and wonderful book to read to your kids during the holidays.
December 25, 2023
Such a fun Christmas read! Each day was fun and enjoyable!
Want to read
February 26, 2024O
November 30, 2021
The preparation for Christmas with all of it's wish lists, cards, tree shopping, present wishing and nervous expectations make this into an adorable read...but Peanuts is in a class all of its own.
This is a collection of 25 stories, each derived from the beloved Peanuts tales that many of us know and love. The stories have been realigned to fit a short reading for each day. The scenes will awake memories for those, who are already Peanut fans, and give new readers a glance at all those things which made the characters, who they are. This is not done in comic form, but rather, short story tales with a large illustration or two to set the scene.
The stories are written for lower middle graders or those chapter book readers, who have a good handle on their words. But this also works ( and in my opinion, is better) as a read-aloud. The tales are snippets from the larger comic plots, but they are changed just enough to make them fit a short story form. There are other alterations and twists, and a few end with a slightly incomplete atmosphere. Still, all of the wonder which makes Lucy, Charlie, Snoopy nd the other characters, who they are, shines through.
It's a fun read to get ready for the holidays and will make more than just Peanut fans smile.
I received a complimentary copy and found it a fun way to countdown the days.
This is a collection of 25 stories, each derived from the beloved Peanuts tales that many of us know and love. The stories have been realigned to fit a short reading for each day. The scenes will awake memories for those, who are already Peanut fans, and give new readers a glance at all those things which made the characters, who they are. This is not done in comic form, but rather, short story tales with a large illustration or two to set the scene.
The stories are written for lower middle graders or those chapter book readers, who have a good handle on their words. But this also works ( and in my opinion, is better) as a read-aloud. The tales are snippets from the larger comic plots, but they are changed just enough to make them fit a short story form. There are other alterations and twists, and a few end with a slightly incomplete atmosphere. Still, all of the wonder which makes Lucy, Charlie, Snoopy nd the other characters, who they are, shines through.
It's a fun read to get ready for the holidays and will make more than just Peanut fans smile.
I received a complimentary copy and found it a fun way to countdown the days.
December 12, 2021
Loved it! A Christmas classic!
December 26, 2022
Read this with my son each night in December (until December 25).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews