Play it Again, Charlie Brown.

Charles Schulz, World Publishing Company, 1971

Dear sweet serious Schroeder. I love his dedication to the craft of composing. I love his devotion to Beethoven. And Lucy, forever fighting a losing battle for his affection. She's willing to try anything...

"Beethoven now comes in spray cans."

I'm not even sure what that means! In this story she volunteers Schroeder to do a concert for the PTA at the suggestion of Peppermint Patty. After he agrees and actually thanks Lucy, she finds out that it's meant to be a rock concert and Beethoven will not be welcome there. He refuses to play with a "combo" and feels it would be selling out.

When Lucy fails to produce an act for the PTA performance she is apologetic to Peppermint Patty and suddenly has an idea...

"PTA programs also come in spray cans."

Seriously. What the heck? This must be some bit of 1970s Peanuts humor I am just not getting.

Oh to be in Love!

Charles Schulz, The World Publishing Company

United Feature Syndicate, 1968

After watching a PBS special on Schulz I view all his books, cartoons, and comics with different eyes and suddenly they all seem so much more sad. I know that humor often as its roots in tragedy and truly Charlie Brown is a tragic character. This book is great evidence of that.

It's in this story that Charlie discovers his love for the little red haired girl and he's trying to find the words to tell her. It makes him a little crazy and he does insane things like embarrass himself in front of the class by accidentally reading part of his love letter to her. He doesn't want to miss the last day of school so he overcompensates and sets an alarm for 4 am but then is so tired he falls asleep and misses the bus. When he gets to school he tries to impress her with his math skills but he's forced to admit he has no idea what he's doing. Poor Charlie Brown. The book ends with a message of hope, in the form of a note pressed into his hands in the midst of the end of school day, last day before summer vacation chaos.

Charlie Brown tried the old flower method, and as he plucked each petal from a nice white flower, he recited those words that were supposed to give him his answer: "She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not." He never really finished, however, for Linus broke in with a statement that sort of deflated the whole business.

"It is difficult for me to believe that a flower could ever have the gift of prophecy"

Cozy Reading.

In this pic our family friend, Barb, is reading He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown! to me and to her son Erik. And yes, it's entirely possible I am picking my nose in this picture. It's hard to tell if I'm just being shy or going for the gold. Oh well.

How Do I Measure Up?

Charles Schulz, United Feature Syndicate Inc., 1974

This is a height chart that used to hang on the door of "the middle room" as my siblings and I referred to the guest room upstairs. I guess it was the middle room because I had to walk through it to get to my bedroom. I've long loved Snoopy and here he is in all his felt, rick-rack glory. It's not in perfect condition, but hey, neither am I!

"He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown!"

Charles M. Schulz, World Publishing Co, 1968

I have a few different Charlie Brown books, but this one is my favorite. In this one all the kids are fed up with Snoopy's antics and Charlie Brown sends him back to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for obedience training. My favorite parts are the ones with Peppermint Patty-- how she thinks he's a funny looking kid, how she ends up waiting on him hand and foot, how when Charlie Brown actually dares to leash him, he gets free and makes amends with Peppermint Patty. The very best is the reunion scene between boy and dog. The happy dance. Here are some of the images in the book.
I forgot it was a film too. Of course, they all are, aren't they? If you are curious, you can watch it here. (it's in three parts)