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You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, and the Masked Marvel, who looks suspiciously like a familiar tennis-playing beagle, are contestants in an action-packed motorbike race
44 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,035 books1,654 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 8, 2024
I’m a sucker for the Peanuts gang, always loved them. The comedic timing is too funny. Also this was an old comic copy with colored pages that I got from Half Price Books and it may be the most beautiful book I’ve ever looked at. Inspiring me to start a collection! No notes.
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October 24, 2024Cute as always. Love Charlie Brown and the gang
January 18, 2026
Charlie Brown is a winner in my heart.
April 8, 2022
I had the book and tape set when I was little. I've long since lost the book, sadly, but I still have the tape. I still remember listening as I read along, on warm summer afternoons when I should've been outside playing...I guess I was a born bookworm!
This was almost like watching a Peanuts special, but without a screen. The narration had music and sound effects, and voices done by several actors. I loved it - I felt like I was listening to an old-time radio show! I do remember the illustrations in the book, in Charles Schulz' classic style.
In this story, the Peanuts Gang compete in a motocross race. As always, Charlie has his issues to overcome, including his own dog as a serious competitor! I remember, the color commentary was done by Marcie, I think. The only other part I remember was the ending, which I won't spoil here, but I do remember it was cute and funny, and ironic.
Maybe one day, I'll be able to find a copy of the book, and finally reunite my set...
This was almost like watching a Peanuts special, but without a screen. The narration had music and sound effects, and voices done by several actors. I loved it - I felt like I was listening to an old-time radio show! I do remember the illustrations in the book, in Charles Schulz' classic style.
In this story, the Peanuts Gang compete in a motocross race. As always, Charlie has his issues to overcome, including his own dog as a serious competitor! I remember, the color commentary was done by Marcie, I think. The only other part I remember was the ending, which I won't spoil here, but I do remember it was cute and funny, and ironic.
Maybe one day, I'll be able to find a copy of the book, and finally reunite my set...
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May 7, 2014Peppermint Patty convinces her friends to participate in a motocross race. In the competition Charlie Brown and Snoopy collide and in the confusion of the race and ambulances Snoopy ends up in the hospital, while Charlie is taken to the veterinary clinic.
More a traditional comic book, I chose this book to determine if there are graphic novels that appeal to primary grade students. The cartoon images and thought and statement bubbles are characteristic of the graphic novel genre, but in this case easier to follow than some graphic novels I have read.
The pictures of this book will appeal to the youngest of students, who can use the cartoons to tell the story even if they are unable to read the text. The reading level of the text is 2nd-4th grade. In any classroom I see this book as reading for enjoyment as opposed to building a lesson around it.
More a traditional comic book, I chose this book to determine if there are graphic novels that appeal to primary grade students. The cartoon images and thought and statement bubbles are characteristic of the graphic novel genre, but in this case easier to follow than some graphic novels I have read.
The pictures of this book will appeal to the youngest of students, who can use the cartoons to tell the story even if they are unable to read the text. The reading level of the text is 2nd-4th grade. In any classroom I see this book as reading for enjoyment as opposed to building a lesson around it.
October 3, 2016
Classic. The book, again, lends itself to amazing vocabulary. Not only that, but it also has amazing pictures - could be coupled with the actual episode for further learning. The pictures are separated out to help students and readers separate the scenes.
April 29, 2021
This was my favourite book when I was 8 or 9. Certainly one of them. This, some Footrot Flats and some Garfields. Read this again - first time reading it as an adult, man the guy-punch of the last page is so, so good -worth all the good-natured set-up. Subtly dark-af. Love it.
June 15, 2012
This is waiting on the shelf until my little guy is old enough to enjoy comics.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews