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You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown!
This commemorative collection celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip by bringing together the author's favorites, with reflections on the sources for the comic strip from his own childhood.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,042 books1,676 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 4, 2018
This book consists of essays; overall seems like a memoir of the author and some of it provide the explanations of where the idea for the strips came from. It's really enjoyable and for the sake of it I want to say that Peanuts is a real classic!
May 8, 2023
You can read our full review here: https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/04/...
Excerpt: My grandma got the paper and we would spend Sundays reading it (I feel like I’m severely dating myself here), my dad would get them, read everything but the comics while I read the comics, and then I would give him the comics for him to finish.
The Peanuts was top of the list for all of us. For Grammy, for dad, for myself. Its interesting how important of a comic strip they’ve been to so many. Amy talks about how they were always her favorite, and how they were Uncle Bob’s favorite as well.
[See my previous book review about The Philosophy of Snoopy here – Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz).]
There were numerous comic strips I enjoyed – Wizard of Id, The Far Side, Fox Trot, Calvin and Hobbes, Blondie, B.C., Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, The Lockhorns, Heathcliffe, Pearls Before Swine, Mutts, Awkward Yeti, and so many more.
...
This is a fun way to do a “clip show” style of showing clips and comic strips from (at the time) 35 years of The Peanuts. Intercut with paragraphs and pages of Charles M. Schulz’s personal accounts, autobiography, discussions, and inspirations for different strips.
These intercut essays are a great look into Charles M. Schulz and who he was, and how much his life influenced The Peanuts strip. Theres also some interesting background and backstory stuff about the creation of The Peanuts as well.
The strips selected are funny, mainly because The Peanuts in general is funny. So its hard to go wrong with picking a “best of the best” from their collective run, when most of their strips are already very good............
You can read our full review here: https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/04/...
Excerpt: My grandma got the paper and we would spend Sundays reading it (I feel like I’m severely dating myself here), my dad would get them, read everything but the comics while I read the comics, and then I would give him the comics for him to finish.
The Peanuts was top of the list for all of us. For Grammy, for dad, for myself. Its interesting how important of a comic strip they’ve been to so many. Amy talks about how they were always her favorite, and how they were Uncle Bob’s favorite as well.
[See my previous book review about The Philosophy of Snoopy here – Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz).]
There were numerous comic strips I enjoyed – Wizard of Id, The Far Side, Fox Trot, Calvin and Hobbes, Blondie, B.C., Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, The Lockhorns, Heathcliffe, Pearls Before Swine, Mutts, Awkward Yeti, and so many more.
...
This is a fun way to do a “clip show” style of showing clips and comic strips from (at the time) 35 years of The Peanuts. Intercut with paragraphs and pages of Charles M. Schulz’s personal accounts, autobiography, discussions, and inspirations for different strips.
These intercut essays are a great look into Charles M. Schulz and who he was, and how much his life influenced The Peanuts strip. Theres also some interesting background and backstory stuff about the creation of The Peanuts as well.
The strips selected are funny, mainly because The Peanuts in general is funny. So its hard to go wrong with picking a “best of the best” from their collective run, when most of their strips are already very good............
You can read our full review here: https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/04/...
January 2, 2023
As a drawer and a big fan of Charles Schulz, I love this book. I enjoyed the stories that inspired his comic strip. I also related to a few of the stories that reminded me of my own work. Definitely recommend for any Charlie Brown fan.
January 14, 2025
Loved the stories behind some of the strips and quips.
September 1, 2024
Luin suomenkielisen version tästä kirjasta ”Ei ikä paina, Jaska Jokunen”. Tenavat-sarjakuvan luojan Charles M. schulzin mielenkiintoisia taustatarinoita sarjakuvaklippien takaa. Arkielämän asiat heijastuivat hienosti Tenavien tarinoihin mukaan.
Tämän kirjan haluaisin itsekin omistaa, mutta tuskin enää on mistään saatavilla.
Tämän kirjan haluaisin itsekin omistaa, mutta tuskin enää on mistään saatavilla.
December 31, 2025
A perfect collection of very short essays from the creator of Peanuts that adds simple insight and explanation to many of the themes and characters in the Peanuts strips. There have been countless Peanuts collections and anniversary books/editions over the years, but this is the the one book that really compliments the history and background of Peanuts - and yes, there are plenty of Peanuts strips included.
January 25, 2026
There are some times which are so awful, I have to make a cup of tea and re-read my vintage copy of this book. Charlie Brown was born the same year as me, and then, Charles Schulz assigned my name - with it's unusual spelling, to one of his characters. We need more Charles Schulz and Gary Larson right now.
April 25, 2016
A few years ago I found myself in Santa Rosa and delighted to learn there was a Charles Schultz museum. I had enjoyed Peanuts (who doesn't?!), but the museum helped me appreciate the labor and talent that stood behind the Saturday morning smiles I had experienced when reading his work. This book was similar. While not very graphically appealing, it includes short little excerpts of the motivation and inspiration behind certain themes (e.g. Valentine's Day, use of bible verses, Charlie Brown's episode in the hospital). These excerpts helped me to appreciate the person behind the stories. As they say, authors should "write what they know."
Be prepared for a few cartoon reprint that are small! Also, the narrative is to the point and not too melodic. However, the narrative felt true to form--patterning the balloons above those beloved characters.
Be prepared for a few cartoon reprint that are small! Also, the narrative is to the point and not too melodic. However, the narrative felt true to form--patterning the balloons above those beloved characters.
May 3, 2011
Comics and essays explaining some of the strips by Charles Schultz.
June 26, 2013
Any time Charlie Brown thinks he is going to get that football from Lucy is a good time.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews