my favorite time of the year

Yes, it is that most special, magical time of year, a time that brings joy to the heart. No, it’s not when a young man’s fancy turns to love. It’s when a middle-aged blogger gets a new book edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas!

Bringing a little joy into our lives
Bringing a little joy into our lives

It is not, mind you, a new adaptation. The text and pictures are reprined from last year’s new hardcover adaptation. But this 5.5″ square paperback comes bundled with a little tree, about 8 inches high, and an ornament and a blanket so that you can transform this pathetic little tree into… well, the still pathetic little tree. If you want it to be a magical wonderful tree, you have to steal all the prize-winning adornments form someone’s doghouse and then wave your hands around a lot.

This whole set is list priced at just under $15, but if you order it now, you can get it for closer to $11.

For those of you new to The AAUGH Blog, you may not know that we have a complete guide to A Charlie Brown Christmas book adaptations. Now you know. Go. Look.

As long as I’m doing a post I might as well mention the Peanuts character look-a-like contest.

New releases
A pop-up shows up

Here Comes Charlie Brown!: A Peanuts Pop-up, Gene Kannenberg, Jr.’s adaptation of the very first Peanuts strip, is not the first Peanuts book to reprint only a single strip. There was at least one board book that did much the same thing. However, that board book was, at heart, a …

Classic finds
English Phrases to Comfort Your Heart

The next book in my Amazon Japan shipment falls into the adorable category of “Peanuts used to explain American culture”. English Phrases to Comfort Your Heart with Snoopy by Nobu Yamada falls into that category. It also falls into the category of “books which are meant to be destroyed”, as each …

New releases
Look! A mook!

Mooks – that is, items with magazine-like content but sold more like a book – are popular in Japan. Many of them come bundled with extra items, and there have been a fair number with Peanuts items. Most often these are bags – a handbag or a tote of some …