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Peanuts TV Specials #1974
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
Easter presents all sorts of trials and tribulations for the Peanuts gang and the Easter beagle.
Based upon the Lee Mendelson-Bill Melendez television production "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown."
Based upon the Lee Mendelson-Bill Melendez television production "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown."
42 pages, Library Binding
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 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2012
Aahhh so much FUN! :D Talk about finding gems hidden in the bookcase!
March 15, 2017
Illustrated in color, this is a classic Peanuts holiday story. Linus is looking forward to the arrival of the Easter Beagle, after having been disappointed by the Great Pumpkin. Meanwhile Sally has no shoes suitable for the holiday and Peppermint Patty has high hopes of teaching Marcie how to color eggs. The gang is all here, and in fine form. I do wish there was less blank space on many of the pages, but it's a cute book with more pictures than words, so perfect for the younger crowd.
December 7, 2025
I remember watching this on television when I was a child, and it was very nostalgic to read the book. The classic Charles M. Schulz story and artwork is fun to read and the plot is very silly.
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July 18, 2018H 12
June 26, 2024
This is a review of the 1976 Scholastic paperback edition. It's amazing to think that you could get a great paperback for 50 cents or even less back in my elementary school days.
Snoopy and the Peanuts gang were great friends to me during my lousey childhood. My family had many Peanuts books that I read over and over again. I found them especially comforting when I was sick. However, they never made me laugh.
Except for this one. It only consists of stills from the TV special, but it was the only one that made me laugh when I was a small child. It was the scene where the gang walk into a department store.
When I got to college, I suddenly found Peanuts to be very funny, indeed. Unfortunately, by then I had sold or given away this book. This was one of my favorite Peanuts books.
Snoopy and the Peanuts gang were great friends to me during my lousey childhood. My family had many Peanuts books that I read over and over again. I found them especially comforting when I was sick. However, they never made me laugh.
Except for this one. It only consists of stills from the TV special, but it was the only one that made me laugh when I was a small child. It was the scene where the gang walk into a department store.
When I got to college, I suddenly found Peanuts to be very funny, indeed. Unfortunately, by then I had sold or given away this book. This was one of my favorite Peanuts books.
April 20, 2019
This is one of my favorite books of all time. A nostalgic, delightful read that brings back great memories. Complete with Easter eggs cooked in unique ways by Marcie, humorous commentary of how commercialism has hijacked the holidays when Charlie Brown, Sally, and Lucy go Easter shopping, Linus with great hopes for a visit from the Easter Beagle, and a friendly spat between besties Snoopy and Woodstock, it’s a great read for kids and kids at heart. This edition is heavily illustrated and contains mostly captions for text so it’s a great quick and fun read. Happy reading!
January 16, 2023
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is pretty much Charles M. Schulz recycling the plot of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but if you love these characters you won't be that mad about it. I feel sort of bad for Peppermint Patty's minion who just cannot figure out painting Easter eggs. I feel bad for this child. Where are her parents? Is she being neglected? I do understand that some people don't celebrate Easter, but I am still worried for this girl.
August 13, 2021
It’s The Easter Beagle Charlie Brown.
Cute characters, do not expect depth. **
Cute characters, do not expect depth. **
December 28, 2024
Every year I read the Peanuts holiday book. Love them!
September 15, 2025
Marcie is not that dumb. Otherwise, perfection!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews