I received the Hallmark Christmas catalog mailer the other day, and while there were new books in there, and Peanuts items, there were no new Peanuts books. But I try to be not so concerned, because I recall that being the case in the past, and they still ended up with new Peanuts Christmas books of some form or another during the season.

So I surf over to their website to see if they perhaps have a new Peanuts book in the catalog there, and there are… but not Christmas ones. No, You’re a Good Kid, Charlie Brown and Snoopy Gets Hungry are board books… well, they’re described as board books. But while they have board covers…

…and board opening-spreads….

…the pictures of the interior seems to make it clear that that’s made of standard paper.

So, if my understanding from the pictures is correct, and these are books with board covers but paper insides, they would be… oh, there’s gotta be a term for that. Oh yeah, hardcovers.

And a somewhat fancy hardcover is a perfectly fine thing to be, but it doesn’t replace what it seems to me is the main point of board books, which are books where the pages can be turned by those who have not yet developed strong motor skills, and where the material is now resistant to damage by those hands.

But this is not a review. I do not have the books yet. I haven’t even ordered them yet. Why? Because I have a coupon to save a couple extra bucks if I wait a couple weeks, and so for once my cheapness instincts are overwhelming my collecting instincts!

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