I have in my slightly-peanut-buttery-smelling mitts the book adaptation of A Charlie Brown Christmas. No, not that one. No, not those. This years. No, not this year’s snow-block adaptation, this year’s non-snow-block edition. Yeah, this one. And yes, this is a brand new adaptation.

Someday (not at least a theoretical someday) I’m going to do an article on all the book adaptations of A Charlie Brown Christmas which have been done over the years. And when I do, I will note that this is the slickest-looking one. They gave it the full-on Photoshop treatment, with vibrant colors, careful modeling, and even coloring the linework so that it all looks smooth and blended (although that makes the still-in-black facial features jump out all the more.

The serious Charlie Brown Christmas nut is going to flinch at some of the updating. The look is very much late-period Schulz, and that’s done not just with the linework, but with the clothing; Lucy is in her sweatshirt and pants, rather than the frilly dress she wore in the special. More jarringly, characters have been removed like an out-of-favor Soviet politician from a history book; not only are minor appearances like those of 3 and 4 are gone, but Original Flavor Patty has been given the ax, with her lines delivered by Peppermint Patty. That’s right, Peppermint Patty, who wasn’t even in the strip when the original special aired has now been dumped in, along with her eventual pal Marcie. (And of course Peppermint Patty is clomping around the auditorium in her trademark sandals, which leads us to question whether her single father is actually such a bad parent that he allows her to walk around in the thick snow outside with her feet so underprotected.)

This is being billed as a deluxe edition. The printing quality is nice, the book is a hardcover with a cloth cover. It’s not an “ohmigosh” volume, but I could see leaving it on the coffee table as Christmastime approaches. So if you have a blank spot on your coffee table, here you go.

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