Peanuts - A Golden Celebration: The Art and the Story of the World's Best-Loved Comic Strip

by Charles M. Schulz, David Larkin (Editor)

This remarkable collection of strips spanning the last 50 years gives readers a look at the first appearance of Linus, Marcy, Pigpen, and Woodstock, and even the first time Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Art, Fiction, Comic Strips, Childrens, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

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

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this at a thrift store in almost perfect condition for $3, so I grabbed it. As a kid, I became acquainted with the Peanuts gang mostly by checking out collections of their strips from the school library.

This book is just that - a collection of strips spanning about 50 years. It's not comprehensive, but there is enough there to gain an appreciation for the genius of Charles Schulz. Organized by decade, it includes notes from Schulz providing insight on the development of perhaps the greatest comic strip ever devised - such as why there were no adults in the strips or why Linus thought there was such a thing as the Great Pumpkin or why Marcie and Patty are the only characters not to use the name "Charlie Brown" or why Snoopy's doghouse is seen only from a side view.

Clearly, the heydey of the strip was the 60's and 70's, or maybe I just feel that way because those are the books that were available in the library when I was a kid reading in the 80's. But that is also when many of the Charlie Brown TV specials were produced so I don't think I'm mistaken.

In one strip, Schroeder, who is the catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team, comes to the pitcher's mound to complain to Charlie Brown about getting hit on the hand with a foul ball. Charlie Brown asks, "Well, do you think you can still play?" Schroeder goes back to his house, knocks out a riff on his toy piano, and then reports back to Charlie Brown that, yes, he can still play.

I identify strongly with the humor in the strips. It could be because Charles Schulz and I see the world in a similar way, or it could be that reading all the strips in my youth contributed to the development of my sense of humor and what I perceive to be funny.

For fans of the Peanuts strip, this is a worthwhile read. The only thing that I didn't really like was how Charles Schulz likes to go by the nickname "Sparky". But, hey, it's his nickname, not mine.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say. After The Far Side, Doonesbury, and some New Yorker cartoons, the Peanuts strip is my next all time favorite; I used to like Kathy also. I was never much of a comic book or comic strip reader, but as a kid, this was my favorite cartoon strip for years and years. And this collection is terrific for Peanuts and Charles Schulz fans. The characters in these cartoons and lovable and Schulz knows about dogs & children & human nature in general.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!!!!!

[Gulshan Naqvee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really one good history and background read. It tells story behind the famous comic strips and development of characters. Snoopy is my favorite. Logical Dog.

[Sarah83 sbookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine schöne Zusammenstellung über 50 Jahre Peanuts. Es ist wirklich interessant zu sehen, wie sich manche Figuren im Lauf der Zeit verändert und entwickelt haben

[Pratyu · Rating 4 out of 5]

- peanuts is one of the best comics i've ever read
- idk why i didn't realize this before a few weeks ago
- the letters that charles m. schulz got ranged from endearing to bizarre

[Bridget Hanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peanuts isn’t always funny… but when it’s funny it’s REALLY funny.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a weighty, large-format paperback at 253 pages, this is a very nicely printed and laid out book, featuring a wide selection of Peanuts comic strips in chronological order from 1950-2000, many of which are in colour. Personally, I preferred the non-comic-strip parts - the occasional pages about the gallery, how Schulz came up with his ideas, history, margin notes about particular storylines, readers' letters etc. However, these formed only a small % of the book, the bulk of which was, understandably, occupied with the comic strips. Of these, many were repetitive or extremely slight on humour. I don't believe I smirked once at the whole lot, so 'gentle' were they, even though I do and did always like the Charlie Brown TV shows and movies. Perhaps the selection could've been better. Anyhow, for me it was rather a tiresome read towards the end. 3.25/5

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Peanuts comic strips from over a 50-year period. What is best about the book are the comments from Schulz himself explaining how he came up with the strip or why he did something.

It is amazing to look back and see how much Schulz and his comic strip influenced the world. The characters are recognized around the world, and Schulz coined the neologism "Security Blanket."

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.

[Kirby Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of one of our most beloved comic strips, and by its author, no less!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large selection of Peanuts comic strips illustrating the evolution of the characters over 50 years and revealing some of Sparky’s inspirations. A fun and very interesting read!

[Roger L Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never too old for Snoopy!

[Stella Schaefer-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love seeing the development of the comic strip. I love the classic cartoon style but the early strips have something really sweet and endearing about them.

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this huge book, usually seen in hardcover and going in that form for about $45, for $3.50 at Half.com. It has a couple thousand great Peanuts strips and some nifty annotation from the late CMS. Only problem is a couple thousand Peanuts strips ain’t enough and this thing just made me want the rest of the books more. They almost completely ignored Miss Othmar, one of my favorite offscreen characters. Nonetheless, I was very pleased that they concentrated mostly on the late material, the time when snobs with no romance or fun in their lives swear the strip went downhill, because inevitably I was raised on the ’60s stuff so his ’80s and ’90s work is new to me. Anyway, highly recommended.

It would be no exaggeration to say that Schulz changed my life and I would certainly count him as my hero, if I have to have one. He made this palette of characters the vehicle for his life’s work, and taken as a whole it’s as impressive as that of people with the restless need to change the scenery every two weeks. His characters didn’t say things like “I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul,” They ended sentences with prepositions (like I do, constantly) and said “good” instead of “well”; although they were smart kids and smart adults could instantly relate, they were still kids, and there wasn’t a false note in 50 years of this shit. Even Woodstock flying around with a cell phone is funny, because the humor, no matter how bizarre its subject, never loses touch with its creator’s warmth. And the guy even wrote the damn TV specials. Someday I hope my schedule is that active… assuming I overcome the laziness that’s leading me to write this instead of working on something important.

It’s been said CMS painted a cruel world filled with nothing but bitter loss and rejection. My retort would be that he was showing us the real world, and that even the smallest pleasures in that world are worth fighting for. (There, I did it again, see?) And by the way, am I the only one in the world who thinks maybe Charlie Brown secretly loves it when Lucy pulls away that football? Having grown up around a similar girl, I can say that’s the kind of rare interaction you end up treasuring.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peanuts: A Golden Celebration-The Art and the Story of the World’s Best-Loved Comic Strip was published in 1999. Charles Schulz died in February 2000. The collection was designed and edited by David Larkin. The comic strip research was conducted by Karen O’Connell and Patrick McDonnell. I really enjoyed Peanuts: A Golden Celebration. The book contains memories by Charles Schulz of his time writing Peanuts. The book is annotated with memories by Charles Schulz, which were dictated to David Larkin. This book has a beautiful layout. The book is organized by decades. The reader can follow the decades of change in the Peanuts comic between October 1950 and November 1997. The book reveals how Schultz does his work and provides a background of the Peanuts comic. The book presents Schultz’s thoughts on his Peanuts work. The book will probably answer most of the readers' questions about the Peanuts comic. For example, Schulz explains why Schroeder loves Ludwig van Beethoven's music rather than that of another Classical composer. The book explains why Beethoven's name is funny compared to other names. At the same time, Schultz has read several biographies of Beethoven and learned quite a bit about the historical person (Larkin 48). The book is a thoughtful study of Peanuts between 1950 and 1997.
Works Cited:
Treisman, Rachel. 2022. “'Peanuts' still brings comfort and joy, 100 years after Charles Schulz's birth.” National Public Radio. November 30, Retrieved: April 2025. 'Peanuts' still brings comfort and joy, 100 years after Charles Schulz's birth | NCPR News

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books I ever read was a collection of Peanuts strips by Schulz so when I spied this book in the library, I grabbed it and ran gleefully out the door (well, yes, I did check it out first).

I remember back in the 90s discussing with a female friend who was getting a Snoopy tattoo which Snoopy she should get and another friend asking what we were talking about because, "It's Snoopy" and both of us saying, "But he changes throughout the years!"

And this book does show those changes to the characters, both artistically and personality-wise. It's interesting to see Lucy taking care of Rerun when she went out of her way to bully Linus; it's interesting to see Charlie Brown being a wiseacre in the early strips and then becoming the somewhat sad 'everyman'.

I definitely loved the reaction bits within the book, the other cartoonists who somehow included Peanuts in their strips and how Schulz returned the favor in his own. And the printed letters are both intriguing and a bit sad (but gosh, I can imagine how people now rocket off complaint letters online and then continue complaining on social media and how much worse it could possibly be).

The book is oversized and dense with comic strips. I noticed one was reprinted twice and some of them seemed to be out of order storywise but all in all, a wonderful collection and I'm glad the library had it.

Now, to find the "Complete Collection" books because I want to savor all of the strips again.

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this volume to be an introduction to the world of Peanuts, because I believe I have managed to go more than thirty years without actually reading more than a handful of these comic strips. The comics themselves do not disappoint. Ranging from laugh-out-loud-funny to poignant and thoughtful via existential horror (or was the one just me?) Charlie Brown, his self-centred dog Snoopy, and pals are a delight to read. As for the volume itself, well, it was a fine introduction but it was far from perfect. There are a number of occasions where strips that form a story are printed out-of-order and occasionally the same strip is printed twice (this happens on the first two pages!). On the other hand, the commentary by Schulz is often interesting, although it isn't always as insightful as one might hope ("in this comic I revealed Woodstock's name!" accompanying a comic in which Woodstock's name is revealed...). The two-page spreads about the films, the musicals, and the colour strips are interesting, too. Despite having not read many of these comics, but being familiar with most of the characters and the recurrent tropes like Lucy's psychiatric help stand, Snoopy's Red Baron fantasies, and Linus' blanket, I was surprised to see how long it actually was before all the familiar elements were assembled. Interesting historically, fun to read, and a good introduction that could have done with a bit more careful editing.

[Tim Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the career of the masterful, Charles M. Schulz. If you love the Peanuts and want an inside view of how they sprung to life, this is the book for you. The margin notes are superb. Charles Schulz himself, gives brilliant insight into how he developed his characters, how particular strips and story lines came about, the inner workings and dynamics of his characters and their relationships, connections to his own family life, ongoing themes and motifs, and his own personal feelings about his life's work. This is a joyful celebration of one of our most treasured comic strips. If you love the Peanuts, you'll adore this book.

[Colton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love Peanuts. A great collection and overview of Charles Schulz's legacy, and inspired me to start reading the actual full collections. As this is an overview across the years, there are lots of gaps between longer "arcs" if you will, but nothing too terrible. There were a few pages where the printers inserted a strip out of order, and one glaring error where they reprinted a 1989 strip in with the 1998 ones! Other than that, this is a fine collection for any Peanuts fan, young or old.

[Talea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved seeing Charlie Brown and Snoopy as they first were. As an Air Force brat I grew up with Snoopy the Flying Ace everywhere almost. I don’t remember a time when Peanuts wasn’t a huge part of my childhood from posters that said Be Cool Stay in School with Snoopy to the toys I played with to silly putty images being pulled up from the ‘funnies’. Peanuts has been a part of my life even longer than Garfield, Heathcliff, or Eve Clifford the Big Red Dog. Getting to know the history of the strip has been a joy. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves the classic comics.

[Paul Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful, smile-inducing compilation of the best Peanuts comic strips, with comments and explanations from Charles Schulz himself. More Schulz notes would have been appreciated, as he offered good insight on introducing and developing characters, storyline origins, audience response, and much more. This book was published in 1999, months before Schulz died, so it's nearly comprehensive in its coverage of his work. If you're a Peanuts fan (as I am), this is highly recommended.

[Oceana2602 · Rating 4 out of 5]

PEANUTS! 50 YEARS!

So I may be collecting the most awesome comics project ever, the COMPLETE PEANUTS collection (see reviews of the already released books here on goodreads), but that doesn't mean I don't feel obligated to get gems like the 50 Years of Peanuts book in addition.

Especially when it's golden. ;-)

[Mike Dyer-Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife found me this at a car boot sale for £3 and, knowing me well, bought it for me. I was pleased to see a large collection of Peanuts comics, but overjoyed to see commentary from Schulz himself. It was delightful to see his own insight into his characters, and some history to the strip, and some of the later strips from the 90s I had never read. An utter joy for a lifelong fan!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if I knew everything there was to know about Charles Schultz- this is such a treasure! I loved all of the historical facts and “tid bits.” I was even more inspired at the fact that after several years of rejection, they finally gave him a career and the Peanuts gang was born, and the rest is history!

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to stay at my Nana and Grandpa's house a lot in Boulder City, NV. I would "walk uptown" to the library to check out books while I was there. I read all of the Peanuts comic books that they had.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in high school and used a comic in it for my paper on Anna Karenina. Since I'm leading the Anna Karenina book club in February, I thought I'd see if I can find that comic again. Plus Margaret loves "Chibby Brown."

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful retrospective of Schulz's work, of Charlie Brown, of Schulz's life, of all we love of the Peanuts, and most importantly, of Snoopy! A great coffee table book, but even better just before bed, to cheer you after a long adult working day. Such a joy.

[Karl H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Schulz. Peanuts have inspired me to read. Most important. I'm dyslexia. Charlie Brown had encouraged me. Never give up and keep on trying. If Peanuts have never existed. I would never have graduated from college. Again. Thank you, Schulz.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I find myself in times of trouble, brother Charlie comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, GOOD GRIEF!