Peanuts special books

Now shipping: It’sIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

What, that’s not specific enough? You’re right. I should say that now shipping is the book adaptation of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

What, still not specific enough? Okay, it’s the Running Press book adaptation of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

And the odd thing is, that’s still not specific enough. This new book, their 24-page paperback adaptation of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, with a sheet of stickers bound in, is actually the third Running Press adaptation that they’ve done in just under 4 years. In 2004, they released a minibook adaptation. Last year, they released a kid’s board book adaptation. Now this, and no, it doesn’t just recycle the earlier content. Of course, it doesn’t really capture the effect of watching the special, which is mostly a bunch of funny set pieces that the book just has time to explain rather than recreating the effect. The art adaptation is pretty good (and they avoid the five o’clock shadow problem that has plagued some recent efforts), although there is still a problem with arranging layouts where the characters are at different distances.

A bit more fun is Running Press’s new adaptation of A A Charlie Brown ThanksgivingCharlie Brown Thanksgiving. For one thing, the special is a bit more solid in the story department; while it has its set pieces, it also has a real, developing story. Plus, some key parts of the story are missing from the main text – some of the characters and props are on 6 pages of stickers, with the young reader instructed what pages to put them on. Of course, that’s something they can only do once; then the stickers are in. The book also has cardboard figures of Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Snoopy to cut out, and a dining table to cut out and fold. So this might actually making a nice little gift for the niece you’re visiting for Thanksgiving.

Classic finds
Review: Christmas Gift Certificates for You

When I ordered a copy of the 1981 Hallmark Peanuts product Christmas Gift Certificates for You, I reckoned it would be one of those novelty coupon books, each page removable and offering the recipient a walk in the snow, help taking down the tree, or some Peanuts-y equivalent thereof. I …

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 …