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Peanuts Coronet #31
You're a Pal, Snoopy!
Book by Schulz, Charles M.
126 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1972
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,044 books1,675 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 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 10, 2021
Although this book has a Snoopy title, it barely contains any Snoopy...and he's a later iteration (mid-60s) that I don't like as much as the 50s versions in Good Ol' Snoopy. He stands like a human, watches television on top of his dog house, uses his "fists" to fight Lucy, and in general acts a lot less like a dog. I guess he got his wish...he transformed himself from a fuzzy-faced dog into a pseudo-human. And I enjoy it less.
I still haven't made up my mind about whether to buy the complete collections from the 50s (I was never going to buy the later ones), but I am concluding that I'm really not as interested in the human kids - at least not in this stage of the writing. There's a lot here about Charlie Brown failing at baseball, and being miserable going to camp, and getting bullied by Lucy and his little sister. Honestly, the Peanuts kids are so mean to each other. I never liked that all that much as a kid, and I still don't.
I still haven't made up my mind about whether to buy the complete collections from the 50s (I was never going to buy the later ones), but I am concluding that I'm really not as interested in the human kids - at least not in this stage of the writing. There's a lot here about Charlie Brown failing at baseball, and being miserable going to camp, and getting bullied by Lucy and his little sister. Honestly, the Peanuts kids are so mean to each other. I never liked that all that much as a kid, and I still don't.
April 24, 2010
On the cover it says "Selected Cartoons from You Need Help, Charlie Brown, Vol. 2." it's around 120 pages of Peanuts comic strips from 1964 to 1965 and among the first books I ever owned. I was enchanted by these when I was about seven years old and think they're still capable of charming today's children. Looking at them still brings a smile.
November 27, 2023
Book 31 in the Coronet series, this is taken from “You Need Help, Charlie Brown vol 2” and was published in 1972 (I read the 1978 edition), featuring strips from 1964 and 1965 (which is earlier in the run than I usually read). As always, there’s plenty to enjoy and my highlights include dandelions on the pitchers mound, being average, Snoopy & Linus double-act at baseball, Snoopy’s family reunion, confronting crabby Lucy, Charlie Brown at camp (and helping Roy), Snoopy surfing (is that the first time ‘cowabunga’ was used?), “Sydney or the bush?” (I still don’t understand it), tongues touching, Snoopy appreciating his food and a quick mention of the little red-haired girl. There’s a lot of humour and plenty of melancholy, with some nicely poignant moments as well and there’s no Peppermint Patty, but plenty of room for CB, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally and, of course, Snoopy (no Woodstock yet) - Pigpen even appears briefly, as do Violet and Freda. This is a superb collection, which struck a wonderful nostalgic chord with me that I really needed at the moment. A great read, I highly recommend it.
June 26, 2020
You're a Pal Snoopy not only has the world's most popular beagle, the rest of the Charlie Brown gang is here as well, with even more complex dimensions! See Snoopy on a surfboard, a first for the comic strip industry, before getting a wipeout! Totally Tubular!!! See Schroeder expand his horizons, temporarily ditching Beethoven... for Brahms. (What? You think he'd sample Ted Nugent? Not a chance!) Sally has lazy eye and is made to wear an eye patch, and boy Sally looks so Jack Sparrow cool! And there's lots more in this bag of Peanuts!
Four stars
It's Peanuts Crunch Time!!!
Four stars
It's Peanuts Crunch Time!!!
November 2, 2023
I have a 1978 printing of this book which features strips from the mid 1960s. These are mostly sweet observational humour rather than flights of fancy, hence not my favourite collection, but these strips are nevertheless a joy to read again and again.
August 29, 2017
I love the Peanuts! It was a nice, quick read.
January 31, 2021
Sally with an eye patch to correct her "lazy eye." The Great Pumpkin lets Linus down. Charlie Brown at camp is another kid's "good temporary friend." And Linus tutors Sally in "new math."
November 4, 2024
3.5 stars
September 3, 2025
Excellent as always.
Read
September 18, 2026Fun little read
July 10, 2011
Good grief.
This last week has been grueling. I pounded out 25,000 words for Camp Nanowrimo, had an audit at work, trained a new employee, and basically went a little crazy toward Friday.
Fortuitously, on Thursday I found a paperback copy of "You're a Pal, Snoopy" on the giveaway rack at the library. For me, reading Peanuts comics is like eating comfort food. At different points in my life, when I have felt really overwhelmed, I find myself reading comics: TinTin, The Far Side, Spider-Man, Calvin and Hobbes. That is, I regress to what I read as a child.
Much has been written about Charles Schultz's work. Yes, the man was a genius. His simple drawings and infantile characters bely a real emotional profundity (and I mean it. I'm not taking the ironic hipster pose of "this is so corny that it's good." Nope. His work is that good.). I love that Charlie Brown is this angsty, depressed philosopher-type. And he's, like, five years old.
Charlie Brown: "Why did you write 'Charlie Brown is a blockhead' on the sidewalk?"
Lucy: "Because I sincerely believe you are a blockhead! I have to write what I believe is true... it's my moral responsibility!"
Charlie Brown, to himself: "Deep down I admire her integrity..."
This last week has been grueling. I pounded out 25,000 words for Camp Nanowrimo, had an audit at work, trained a new employee, and basically went a little crazy toward Friday.
Fortuitously, on Thursday I found a paperback copy of "You're a Pal, Snoopy" on the giveaway rack at the library. For me, reading Peanuts comics is like eating comfort food. At different points in my life, when I have felt really overwhelmed, I find myself reading comics: TinTin, The Far Side, Spider-Man, Calvin and Hobbes. That is, I regress to what I read as a child.
Much has been written about Charles Schultz's work. Yes, the man was a genius. His simple drawings and infantile characters bely a real emotional profundity (and I mean it. I'm not taking the ironic hipster pose of "this is so corny that it's good." Nope. His work is that good.). I love that Charlie Brown is this angsty, depressed philosopher-type. And he's, like, five years old.
Charlie Brown: "Why did you write 'Charlie Brown is a blockhead' on the sidewalk?"
Lucy: "Because I sincerely believe you are a blockhead! I have to write what I believe is true... it's my moral responsibility!"
Charlie Brown, to himself: "Deep down I admire her integrity..."
August 18, 2007
what a cover! Lucy hugging Snoopy...
August 19, 2011
LIKE WOW!Goodreads allows some html formatting.
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January 22, 2015
Classic Peanuts
Merged review:
Classic Peanuts
Merged review:
Classic Peanuts
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews