In these days of worldwide strife and uncertainty, people find various ways of maintaining a steadiness in their life, something that assures them that the world will go on turning. For some, this rock is religion. For others, it is the love of a good woman or a good man. For me, it’s the ongoing stream of book adaptations of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

You should all be relieved to learn that the earth will keep spinning in 2011.

Coming in September is A Charlie Brown Christmas: with Sound and Music, from Running Press. I presume this will be a version of last year’s A Charlie Brown Christmas: An Interactive Book with Sound, only stripped of that edition’s Hallmark logos. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the book be a somewhat larger size. I would be surprised to see new art or text for the adaptation (although I’m willing to be surprised), as Running Press has been willing to reuse that art repeatedly. And I fully expect that the back cover will continue to claim that the special has now been airing for more than 45 years – it would be funny if they struck that line now that it’s finally true.

Also coming from Running Press in the month before that is It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Leaf Globe. Judging from the price and the fact that it’s listed as a 16 page paperback, I’m pretty sure that this will be one of Running Press’s little boxed items, with a short booklet version of the story and a leaf globe. Now I’ll have to admit that I’m not 100% sure what a “leaf globe” is. In fact, I’m not even 7% sure. Or perhaps they’ve just changed the character’s name to “Charlie Brownleaf Globe”. He is rather globular, after all.

(It has been a while since I had any new upcoming books to announce – and don’t be surprised if such announcements continue their slow pace. This has nothing to do with Peanuts and much to do with the book world in general, which is facing rough times and the possible impending collapse of one of its big chains, Borders.)

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