It's A Home Run, Charlie Brown!

by Charles M. Schulz, Judy Katschke (Contributor)

Based on the characters and comic strips created by Charles M. Schulz, a delightful story follows Charlie Brown, who will stop at nothing to win the baseball game--even if it means actually stealing home base! Simultaneous.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Charles 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.”

Reviews

[Gary Anderson]

Do young people still know Peanuts? I hope so. If they do, their background knowledge about Charlie Brown's insecurities and sudden bursts of courage, Lucy's overbearing personality, and Snoopy's chill will come in handy with It's a Home Run, Charlie Brown. There is enough good baseball here to satisfy those who pick it up as a baseball book. The author clearly knows about sliding, stealing home, fielding positions, and more. Although I'm not a good judge of whether this hits the mark as a Level 2 selection, I definitely chuckled as the language and pictures came together at the climactic moment of the game. My only beef with this early reader book involves the title: There isn't a home run mentioned anywhere in the story. A better title might be Play Ball, Charlie Brown!

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked five parts. I liked when Charlie looked mad a little bit. And he was like sticking his tongue out at himself. I liked when he was trying to steal a base. I liked when the dust came around. I liked when he said, "Play Ball."

Snoopy was playing too. That was crazy.

Lucy is always mad. She says, "You're a blockhead." That is mean.

The End

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adaptation of one of Charles Schulz' favorite Charlie Brown stories has Charlie on edge as manager of the baseball team with the "perfect" record of zero wins. One victory, just one, could change everything. But will Charlie grit his teeth in determination and pull off a miracle....welllll That's about as likely as Tampa Bay getting another Super Bowl win. But STILL it's enjoyable as ever, and now younger kids can giggle at what once made their parents cringe....they love that round headed kid that much!
Three stars
Charlie Brown is a Natural...The Worst there was then, and the best friend there is now!

[Rose Mary Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Charlie Brown tale with a cute twist

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie Brown is tired of losing every baseball game. During the last game of the season, he decides that he will BE the hero. Does the team win their last game? Read the book to find out. :)
This is a challenging Level 2 read compared to other books, and it may be more suited for children who like baseball.

[Ayumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Home Run, Charlie Brown!-Level2
Time 6/2=20min
7 words summary - Charlie want win baseball lose sad enjoy
Discussion Question
Have you ever lost your game?
Yes, of course! I could not win in some swimming races!I do not like losing!

This story is really cute. Losing something is important to children, so I want them to read it!

[Tanya (mom's small victories) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Peanuts gang as a kid. When I saw this book at the library, I think I was more excited than the kids. In the same spirit of the cartoons I grew up with, this book was funny and charming.

[FlasoFlaso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the Peanuts movies. This book has a lot of the things I like to see in the movies like screaming at each other and sticking out tongues. I laughed a lot at this book.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlie Brown stories told in text, rather than cartoons just aren't quite as much fun.

[Peace · Rating 4 out of 5]

really funny and great for lil kids

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you really look at some of the Charlie Brown content, its darrrrrrk. Like this kids needs more hugs ;) But Linc loves the characters - or maybe just how I read them ;)

[Stephen Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best early reading book ever!! Best part is Charlie Brown is still a loser, with no home runs, and no hits!!