*REVIEW: CHARLES SCHULZ BIO FOR KIDS
*SCHULZ MUSEUM OPENING
*MY BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
*MORE ON CONVERSATION SCHOOL BOOKS
*BEWARE "COLLECTIBLE EDITIONS"
*ODD PEANUTS BOOK: ANOTHER DOG’S LIFE
*CLOSING THE UK SHOPPE?
REVIEW: CHARLES SCHULZ BIO FOR KIDS
A while back, I reviewed a Charles Schulz biography aimed at school libraries, noting that with less than 2000 words, it had less information than many of the obituaries that were run about Schulz.
Well, I now have my hands on another such biography, entitled simply CHARLES SCHULZ. This one is part of the Wonders Of Reading series from the publisher The Child’s World. And if you thought the last one was short — the main text of this book has less than 200 words. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, as it is aimed at beginning readers. But doggone it, if you’re going to have only 200 words, at least make sure those words are accurate! "After high school, Charles spent time in the army and worked at many different jobs. He also married his wife, Jean. Charles began drawing cartoons of children." Well, technically yes, Sparky did marry Jeannie (a bright and dear lady) after high school. Long after high school. In fact, Sparky was in his fifties when he married her. The authors seem to be confusing his first marriage with his second…
but the first marriage took place in April 1951, after he had been drawing cartoons of children for years (Li’l Folks had come and gone, the cartoons for the Post were all done, and Peanuts had been in print for half a year.)
Yes, I said "authors". Apparently this two hundred word tome was too much for one author, so Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed share the credit.
The book’s 24 pages alternate text pages with photographic pages. There’s some nice (but not new) shots of Schulz. The book even has an index in the back, because it would be a shame to have to reread all 200 words to find which five out of the ten text pages reference "Peanuts."
You would do more for kids as readers to give them books of Peanuts cartoons, and you can teach them more about Schulz in a 3 minute conversation. The only folks I recommend this to is are obsessive collectors of all things Schulz, and that recommendation merely attest to the fact that the book exists. Order this book: http://AAUGH.com/go.htm?1567669506 In the UK: http://AAUGH.com/uk/go.htm?1567669506
=============================================================
SCHULZ MUSEUM OPENING
The opening dates for the Charles M. Schulz Museum have been announced. The doors open to the general public on August 17th. Want to get in that extra day earlier? Head over to http://www.charlesmschulzmuseum.org and buy yourself a membership in the museum, and you’ll be able to get in on the 16th!
=============================================================
MY BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
PANEL ONE, my book of scripts by various well-known comic book writers, is now available to order at http://AAUGH.com/go.htm?0971633800 Don’t believe Amazon if they say it takes 8 to 14 days to ship this; they actually have copies in stock, their computers just haven’t registered that fact yet.
This is likely the last time I will mention this book in the newsletter (since it’s not Peanuts), so if you’re interested, buy it now!
=============================================================
MORE ON CONVERSATION SCHOOL BOOKS
My Japanese Peanuts book collectin’ pal Satoshi got me some more info on the Conversation School books that I discussed last newsletter. Apparently, there are *seven* books in this series, not four…
but only four feature Peanuts characters (the Lucy and Snoopy books mentioned in the review, plus Charlie Brown’s English Conversation School and Linus’s English Conversation School.) The other three star Blondie, Dennis The Menace, and Beetle Bailey.
There were two editions of this series. I have the older edition, with English language front covers. Satoshi showed me a shot of a newer edition book, with Japanese language covers. (He also peppered his message with "AAUGH!" and "Good Grief", as anyone who learned English via Peanuts strips would!)
=============================================================
BEWARE "COLLECTIBLE EDITIONS"
If you’re looking at Amazon’s listings for books, you will sometimes see "Collectible" editions available for a price. These aren’t actually offered by Amazon, but rather are Amazon running a listing for some other seller. Beware of these. The "collectible" editions are often the exact same book as the edition that Amazon sells directly, only at a higher price. Oh, there will be some excuse that makes them "collectible", such as being a "first edition" (for books that only have had a single printing). I recently corrected a seller who was selling a "signed" copy of PEANUTS: THE ART OF CHARLES M. SCHULZ, the same problem I’d seen crop up on eBay listings earlier (although in this case, the lister was honest and removed the listing once his error had been pointed out.) My favorite "collectible" listings are from sellers who list "British edition" for many books, in some cases where the edition being sold in Britain is the U.S. edition which has been shipped over. That’s right, you pay extra money just to get a copy that’s made a transatlantic round trip!
As long as I’m mentioning Amazon, let me note that from time to time you may get email from them, suggesting new titles based on what you’ve already ordered from them. If you get such an email advertising a Peanuts book you want, do me a favor: instead of clicking through on the link in the email, go to http://AAUGH.com and click through on the book’s listing there. It won’t cost you a penny more, and Amazon kicks back some of the money to me. This really helps justify the time I spend on the website and the newsletter.
=============================================================
ODD PEANUTS BOOK: ANOTHER DOG’S LIFE
Sitting beside me is a Peanuts book. Okay, sitting all around me are Peanuts books, but there’s a particular one at my left. In big letters atop the front cover are the words A PEANUTS BOOK featuring SNOOPY. The title of the book is in small letters below: IT’S A DOG’S LIFE.
Now, this isn’t IT’S A DOG’S LIFE, SNOOPY, the recent book reprinting the strips from 1998. Nor is it IT’S A DOG’S LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN, the 1960s book, nor is it the 1970’s abridged version of that same title. It’s not even the British book "IT’S A DOG’S LIFE". (And people wonder why I need a list to keep my books sorted out!)
In fact, despite the fact that the cover is entirely in English, this is not a book aimed at the English reader at all. The only clue to that is the last line of text on the cover, under Schulz’s credit: "Translated by STEVE JACKOWICZ". Jackowicz, hmmm….
Polish, perhaps? No, the book is a Korean edition. The English is left in place in the panels, with Korean translation (and occasional footnotes, such as an explanation of who Bill Mauldin is) beside each panel. This book has all the daily strips from September 1st, 1986 through April 2nd, 1987.
This 1994 volumes is the first book of at least 10 in this series, with later volumes having such unlikely titles as LOVE IS LIKING PEOPLE, SHE LIKES MARSHMALLOWS IN HER HOT CHOCOLATE, and RERUN LIKES HIM! Steve Jackowicz was actually an American in Korea to study martial arts and Asian medicine. He told me "The Korean translators couldn’t understand why the strips were funny so I wound up getting contracted for the translations."
=============================================================
CLOSING THE UK SHOPPE?
I’m thinking of closing down AAUGH.com’s UK catalog. I thought it would draw a mix of UK Peanuts fans shopping for all their Peanuts books and North American Peanuts fans shopping for books unavailable here. Alas, only about one item per month is ordered through the catalog, so I can’t say it’s doing anyone much good, and I either invest time keeping it pointlessly up to date or I feel guilty because it’s out of date.
I will, of course, continue to announce new British books in the newsletter and provide ordering links for those (not that anyone uses them!)
If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, let me know. (And if you haven’t checked out the UK catalog, head on over to http://AAUGH.com/uk/ right now!)
……………………………………………………
That’s the news for tonight. Spread the word to your friends and keep those change-of-email-address notes coming! Have a happy Easter, a fiendish April Fool’s Day, and if there’s any way we can have a peaceful Passover, that would be a blessing.
I’ll type at you when there’s more news.
–Nat proprietor http://AAUGH.com
