Although I am writing my review for this particular book, my comments here can also be taken to apply to all of the other Calvin and Hobbes books. I own all 16 of them. Yes, I know that means that I have a lot of duplication, but I still like the cover art and original stories that are inside of each book. Anyway, Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic strip of all time. And I guess it's kind of cliched to say that, because there are so many other people who also feel that way. Well, that's because this cartoon touches so many people in such a wonderful way. It reminds me of what it's like to be a little kid with a very active imagination. It takes me back to a simpler time when I didn't have to worry about the problems of the "real" world. The stories are great. The characters are very interesting and have lots of personality. I like the way that Watterson draws, and I like the colors that he uses. All 16 of these books are excellent.

Calvin & Hobbes was so popular during its run that people never needed to explain what the strip was about to anyone; it's been a couple of years and with the exception of little kids, people seem to remember the strip for the most part. So, all I'll say about this collection is that it is the preferable purchase over the first two books, the self-titled "Calvin & Hobbes" and "Something Under The Bed Is Drooling." Why? "The Essential Calvin and Hobbes" actually collects every single strip from those two books (it's NOT a best of, as some people would say), and most importantly, the Sunday strips are in color. Hands down, Watterson painted the most beautiful looking Sunday strips since Walt Kelly, and it would be a shame if you only knew them through the black and white reproductions of the smaller collections. It's also cheaper to buy this book instead of the first two, as well. As a special bonus, Watterson included a nice, water-colored poem at the beginning, which isn't available anywhere else.

Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip is a true rarity. It is technically well-drawn, unlike so many other comics. It is intelligent, insightful, and has characters one can really relate to - but does not take itself too seriously and is above all funny and fun to read. It is the story of the world as seen through the eyes of a six-year-old, Calvin, and his best friend, a Tiger named Hobbes - which only Calvin sees as real, and the rest of the world sees as a stuffed doll...

Most of all, the creator of the strip, Watterson, is a true rarity: he refused to commericalize the characters - the only product he sells are book collections of the original strip, like this one - and retired in 1995 when he felt he was beginning to become repetitive. Watterson literally walked away from millions of dollars to save the integrity of his creations, Calvin and Hobbes.

For once, both the characters in the strip and their creator in real life teach us something about what is really important in life - and that it is not REALLY all about money and climbing the corporate ladder after all.

Just compare the well-drawn, love-of-life, intelligent and uncommercialized Calvin&Hobbes to the poorly-drawn, cynical, shallow and commercialized-to-the-wazoo contraption named "Dilbert", for example. Compare the talent and integrity of Watterson to the talentless "sell out to whoever pays more" character of "Dilbert"'s creator.

This will give you a REAL insight on what is wrong with the world.

I thought that it was a very funny book and I liked how it had all of the Peanuts characters. I am a Peanuts fanatic and I have a lot of Peanuts books, but this is still one of my favorites.

It's true, Dogs Are Worth It! No one can put a smile on your face like Schulz can. I purchased my copy to give as a gift but I wasn't able to give it up.

A wonderful book in a new series featuring one year's worth of strips in a single volume. Do yourself a favor and buy them all. Mr Schulz is one of the greatest cartoonists of all time and he has been doing this for five decades, now.

Peanuts started in 1950, but didn't show up in the Sunday Paper until 1952. This collection features the early days of Peanuts as they appeared in the Sunday Paper. Lucy tries hard to get Schroeder's attention (but he's not having any of that). Snoopy acts crazy even in the early days (he scratches up an LP record with his teeth, causes the other team a home run, and ruins a nice game of paddleball for his master Charlie Brown, he even has a TV set inside the doghouse). Pig Pen is a mess, and Linus endures Lucy's fussbudget ways or her inane lectures on life. And then there's good old Charlie Brown, who can't get a break on the croquet field, gets stranded on ice and needs a little help from Snoopy, and can't win a game. Classic line used by Charlie: "You drive me crazy!"

Some of the finest work Mr Schulz has done. Hundreds of bitterswet laughs that you've come to expect from the Peanuts gang.

Charlie Brown books are a one of a kind story books that every person I know can't stop reading them. I check them out from my local school library every chance that I get.

This book offers a glimpse into the history and making of this holiday classic TV special, as well as paying tribute to Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz through interviews with Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson, and some of the voice talents. Also included is a sampling of production and promotional art, and the entire script of the show accompanied by film stills. Just focusing on one of the many Peanuts shows makes for a very short book, however, but what is here is well researched and attractively presented. This book makes a good keepsake, but a book about all of the Peanuts animation would have made a longer, more interesting book. Still, I would recommend this book to Peanuts fans.

Reading "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on a dark Sunday afternoon in November is a bit like owning a DVD crammed with special features. This gorgeously-designed hardcover, with glossy pages and a heavy silver dustjacket, is a terrific companion to the TV special, and an almost essential shelf companion to "Peanuts: A Golden Celebration".

Anything you'd want to know about the "Christmas" TV special is in this book -- lengthy interviews with producer Lee Mendelson (a veteran of Peanuts anniversary books) and animator Bill Melendez. Charles M Schulz passed away before the book was written, but there are plenty of rarely-seen photos of him taken in the 1960s. There's a chapter on Vince Guaraldi, whose jazz soundtrack defines the lives of many "Peanuts" fans; interviews with some of the children who voiced the characters; and, O happy day, sheet music! The second half of the book contains the complete script for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" itself, along with dozens of photos and animated sequences, taken from the original cels.

"Christmas" is not for small children (unless they're reading it with you), and there are a couple of misprints (including, in my first edition, a caption for a photo that's not in the book!). But it's lovely to look at, and when I put it down finally, reluctantly, I was whistling the soundtrack and hearing Linus's nativity speech (and I'm Jewish!). These days you can buy it for about as much as the DVD costs, and it's a wonderful Christmas gift. Unless, of course, the person you're buying it for already owns it.

This book is for anybody who's seen A Charlie Brown Christmas virtually every year it's been on TV or via VHS or DVD.

It includes storyboards of the Ford commercials which featured Linus and Lucy back in 1962 (3 years before this classic TV special debuted). Not only that, it features advertisements in TV guide, an interview with Bill Melendez, who animated all the Peanuts specials and films up to Charles Schulz's untimely death in 2000), and a few essays from Lee Mendelson, who worked side by side with Melendez on each of the specials. It also features a few words from Peter Robins (the 1st voice of Charlie Brown) and Chris Shea (who played Linus). You also get a tribute to Vince Guaraldi who composed the music (not to mention that it includes the sheet music for "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmastime Is Here"). This book mentions how they came up with the adult "voices" in the specials and Schulz's conditions on working on Charlie Brown Christmas (one was that real children would do the kids' voices, and another was that the Gospel of Luke was present in the script in order to remind the audience the true meaning of Christmas).

Most importantly, this book includes the entire script of Charlie Brown Christmas with stills from the special. In essence, there is enough information for you to cast your own stage production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. There is one slight error in the script, however- the Peanuts gang is not humming "O Little Town of Bethelehem" at the finale but "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (unless this was written in the original script and changed at the last minute). Finally, turn the pages and you'll see Snoopy cause Charlie Brown to crash into the tree in the one scene that begins the special!

Recommended to all Peanuts collectors and all who love the classic special that started it all for Peanuts animation. I got this from a good friend as a Christmas present!

Charles Schulz was the most brilliant man who ever lived. That said, even brilliance starts to fade after a while. "Peanuts 2000," the last year of his magnificent comic strip, doesn't live up to some of the great strips done in earlier years, but it's still "Peanuts," it's still fun, and it's still a lot better than 99% of the stuff in newspapers today.

As Schulz got older he did less continuing storylines and more single-panel daily strips, which were probably less taxing on him. As a result, you don't get quite as high as the quality of the strips of the 60s and 70s where Charlie Brown got a rash on his head and was elected camp president or where Linus struggled with his Christmas Pageant lines... but even to say, "It's not as good as the best 'Peanuts'" is to say, "It's pretty good."

Worth getting for any "Peanuts" fan.

I have loved Peanuts since childhood, and have an almost complete collection of Peanuts books. Charles Schultz has always been an inspiration to me in my work as an occasional professional cartoonist. Not only is Schultz unsurpassed as an artist, he is also one of the great philosophers of twentieth century life in America.
This book is, first and foremost, a celebration of the comic strip. It is a work of art in its own right. All the cartoons in the book are photographed from either their original drawings, or directly from the newspapers. The reader can see the artistic details that Schultz has used in creating each frame in photos of the originals. And the use of the original strips, with their rough paper and newsprint lines, brings back the joy of reading the comics for the first time in the funnies. The Sunday comics are complete with the little color dots that created the color images. There are literally hundreds of comic strips, both daily and Sunday, in this book, and they give a good overview of Schultz's long career.
There are many photos of Schultz's doodles and rough sketches, of his desk and his artist's tools, early cartoons 'Sparky' sold to the Saturday Evening Post, early drawings of certain characters, some of which pre-date 'Peanuts' itself. One can actually see the characters develop, artistically and as human beings. Interspersed with the cartoons are textual explanations and stories about Schultz and his characters, including many insightful comments by Charles Schultz himself about the evolution and personalities of his characters. Also included are photos of early Peanuts toys and dolls, and even these are photographed lovingly and with attention to detail and shadow.
This is a magical book, and any Peanuts fan would love it and treasure it. It is a book one can return to over and over to enjoy. Leave it lying around the living room where everybody can enjoy it and relive the joy Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang gave us for over fifty years. Better yet, introduce a new generation of kids to the strip. The Peanuts gang is a microcosm of us, and reading it reveals much about ourselves and helps us to look on life with tenderness and humor.
Buy this book, read it, and share it. It would make a wonderful present as well. It is the best Peanuts book to date.

Make sure you get the edition that has the final farewell Peanuts comic strip dated 2-13-2000.
This book is a gem...my copy still say First Edition Sept.2000.
My edition has 9 blank pages at the end, but more importantly, it has ALL the daily and Sunday comics for 1999. The daily comics ended on 1/1/00;
The Sunday comics continued for 1/2/00, 1/9/00, 1/16/00, 1/23/00, 1/30/00, 2/6/00, and finally 2/13/00.
All the comics are in COLOR INCLUDING the daily strips.

Here it is, a book which contains all of the Peanuts cartoons created in the year 1991. Some jokes come out flat, but most get smiles, chuckles, or even out-loud laughter for their creativity, orignality..and a good punchline always helps.

Sure, computer-generated strips are the new thing, but you can't really mess with the strip that changed comics...

If you know anything about the Peanuts Gang, you cannot help but lve them. In this collection Schulz, has outdone himself again. Anyone seeking a good laugh or a smile brought to a cloudy day should take a look at this.

This is a most charming collection of the antics of the round-headed kid we all love. With comics from a year's worth of newspapers, including the Sundays, you'll have enough to read to keep you entertained, over and over again. Not only are the Peanuts Gang funny, but inspiring, touching, sad, and as the title indicates, sometimes even profound. With Linus' wise advice, Lucy's sassy attitude, and Snoopy's admirable imagination, Charles Shulz' creations give us insight to the most enigmatical yet simplest part of our lives: our childhoods. Read the comics once and laugh, but read them again, look into the words more, and see the other emotions buried underneath. Charles Shulz was truly a genius, and the world will miss him.

Many of Schulz's detractors are quick to point out how much Peanuts seemed to decline over the years; by the end, things were rarely funny and became so repetitive that more than a few columnists accused Schulz of "running on fumes."

Regardless of your opinion, there's no arguing with the strips presented in Peanuts Treasury, originally published in 1968 during what was arguably Schulz's prime. Schulz had spent most of the 50's gradually developing the cast as well as his technique, and by the dawn of the 60's, he was running full steam; it's no wonder that the strip was also at the height of its popularity.

This hardcover collection presents the cream of the crop between 1959 and 1964, and at just $9.98, it's a steal. A rather bare-bones book (the cover is very sparse and the only addition is a brief introduction written back in August of 1968), I was surprised at how funny and sharp Peanuts could be. If you're a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes, you'll definitely see the huge inspiration Schulz served on Watterson. Calvin isn't anything like the Peanuts characters, but a lot of his world views, sarcasm, and humor feel like they evolved from these strips.

The presentation isn't perfect: some of the stories running through a few strips feel like they aren't in correct chronological order, and the Sunday strips aren't in color (a small complaint, though, since the artwork, particularly the use of color, was never that elaborate). Nevertheless, if you're looking for just one Peanuts collection to own, or if you just couldn't understand what the fuss was over this strip, check this collection out.

This is a series of black and white reproductions of daily and Sunday newspaper strips of Peanuts from the late 1950s through 1968 when this collection was first published. The strips are not put into any sort of chronological sequence, except within some story segments. I did denote an attempt to assemble them in chronological order across a year, as the collection begins with New Year's resolutions and ends with perspectives on the old year.

This collection missed the chance to have a detailed introduction about Charles Schulz and the Peanuts characters. Such an introduction would have added value far beyond its cost.

The printing is so poorly done in places that it is hard to identify Charlie Brown as himself. It felt like reading a comic strip on a light colored paper bag in places.

But, the price is amazingly low. While a quality version of this book would have undoubtedly retailed for ... or more, this one is priced as though it has only 40 pages in it.

So if you want lots of Peanuts for very little money, this is your edition.

You'll find Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Violet in these strips. Some of the strips are classics that you have not seen in many years. There are some good ones of Lucy and her lemonade stand/psychiatric clinic, Charlie Brown trying to kick the football while Lucy holds, Snoopy dreaming of being the Red Baron, Halloween and the Great Pumpkin, and Charlie Brown playing on and managing the kids' baseball team.

One of the benefits of this book is that you can read through extended sequences of strips to see their connections in ways that you could not do when you only saw them daily. It helps you appreciate Charles Schulz's narrative ability more. For example, the book starts with Lucy burying Linus' blanket. Separate story lines develop as Linus searches for it, tries to get along without it, Snoopy finds it for him, and Linus deals with the after effects. I remembered the sequence, but not all the ins and outs of the story. That probably means that I had missed some of the strips at the time. Perhaps you did, too.

You will definitely relive your younger days with these strips. If you only know the later Peanuts strips, I think you will like these better. They are fresher and more direct in their stories.

After you have finished reading all about Peanuts, I encourage you to think about all of the ways that we can make life easier or more difficult for each other. If we are like Lucy, we will add more complications than benefits. If we are too trusting and hard on ourselves like Charlie Brown, less will happen than the best also. I suggest that you reframe Lucy and Charlie Brown into one character who is both more aware and more caring than the average of the two. Then imagine how these stories would change.

Next, compare what you did today to what that new character would have done. What opportunities for improvement does that comparison present to you, for your life? Act on them!

Laugh at Peanuts, then at yourself, and then improve!

This is a highly worthwhile "Peanuts" collection, as it's an unusually [inexpensive] but vast collection of late 50s-early/mid-60s strips that you don't often find in new books, with a lot of wonderful strips in it, and an effort to group them into their original storylines (where applicable) - Sally is born, and Charlie Brown rejoices ("I'm a father!" - and Linus tells Lucy, "You didn't act like that when I was born,") . . . Lucy buries Linus' blanket to prompt him to kick the habit, and Linus is plagued with withdrawal symptoms ("That's the first time I ever dreamed of Hyannis Port!") . . . Linus freaks out when Lucy assigns him to sing "Jingle Bells" at the PTA Christmas pageant - then the new year's pageant ("I will not run around the stage holding a banner reading '1964'!") . . . and, perhaps best, the first time Sally joins Linus in the pumpkin patch - and it's much, much funnier than the TV version ("YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!!") . . . among many, many others. But anyway, this may be nostalgic for you, too, and even if not, it's still a wonderful book. It's definitely worth it!

I have loved Peanuts since childhood, and have an almost complete collection of Peanuts books. Charles Schultz has always been an inspiration to me in my work as an occasional professional cartoonist. Not only is Schultz unsurpassed as an artist, he is also one of the great philosophers of twentieth century life in America.
This book is, first and foremost, a celebration of the comic strip. It is a work of art in its own right. All the cartoons in the book are photographed from either their original drawings, or directly from the newspapers. The reader can see the artistic details that Schultz has used in creating each frame in photos of the originals. And the use of the original strips, with their rough paper and newsprint lines, brings back the joy of reading the comics for the first time in the funnies. The Sunday comics are complete with the little color dots that created the color images. There are literally hundreds of comic strips, both daily and Sunday, in this book, and they give a good overview of Schultz's long career.
There are many photos of Schultz's doodles and rough sketches, of his desk and his artist's tools, early cartoons 'Sparky' sold to the Saturday Evening Post, early drawings of certain characters, some of which pre-date 'Peanuts' itself. One can actually see the characters develop, artistically and as human beings. Interspersed with the cartoons are textual explanations and stories about Schultz and his characters, including many insightful comments by Charles Schultz himself about the evolution and personalities of his characters. Also included are photos of early Peanuts toys and dolls, and even these are photographed lovingly and with attention to detail and shadow.
This is a magical book, and any Peanuts fan would love it and treasure it. It is a book one can return to over and over to enjoy. Leave it lying around the living room where everybody can enjoy it and relive the joy Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang gave us for over fifty years. Better yet, introduce a new generation of kids to the strip. The Peanuts gang is a microcosm of us, and reading it reveals much about ourselves and helps us to look on life with tenderness and humor.
Buy this book, read it, and share it. It would make a wonderful present as well. It is the best Peanuts book to date.

This posthumous collection of the work of Charles Schulz could easily have turned into a rehash of other works, such as the Peanuts Golden Celebration that came out in 2000. It never fell into that trap. Focusing both on the strip and the way it evolved, this feels like (if possible) an even more thorough telling of the Peanuts story. It has rarer strips than "Golden Celebration" as well as comments made by Schulz at various points in his career that help shed insight on how he crafted these stories.

There are lots of sidebars in this book -- pictures of "Peanuts" merchandise and the stories behind the items abound, for example. There are also photos of things like Schulz's drawing board and art tools, just as he left them after finishing the final "Peanuts" strip.

Jean Schulz, in the introduction, starts by saying that Sparky was a genius. I think most of us who want this book already knew that, but it's beautiful to have this reminder. Every "Peanuts" fan simply must read it and treasure it.

I first came across this book one night in a bookstore, and soon, i just had to get my own copy.

This book chronicles the art of Schulz in a collection that utilizes Chip Kidd's graphic design mentality and the art of Charles M. Schulz. Contained herein are thoughts that Schulz had about his characters, as well as many other classic items.

Most notable are the early comic strips, including art never seen by the public before. There are also incredible comic strips dating back to the very beginning. Here it is interesting to see the Peanuts' world when Linus, Lucy, Peppermin Patty and Marcie didn't exist. In the early days, characters like Patty and Violet were fascinated with dolls and making mud pies. Shroeder was a hairless little baby, who was already exuding his wisdom of Ludwig Von Beethoven. Snoopy was still a "normal" dog, but Charlie Brown. Whoa. There was a revelation. Charlie Brown was not quite the mellow guy he is today. There really was very little dislike towards him, and the weirdest thing was hearing a comic strip where Patty and Violet are fighting over who likes Charlie Brown better!

Well, I think I've rambled enough there. There are also the things included, such as:

Pictures of Schulz's workplace. His drawing table, the pen tray where he stored his art supplies, and much more.

Rare pictures of Peanuts Memorabilia, such as a Snoopy doll, suited up for a landing on the moon, LEGO figures of the Peanuts characters with "bobble" heads, and Peanuts comic book covers.

Rare comic strips and drawings, including: A Sunday Comic Strip, where Lucy and Charlie Crown play golf among a sea of adults (you only see their legs, nothing else), the only known image of Charlie Brown's "Little Red-Haired Girl," and even failed or scrapped drawing ideas.

After this book came out, I did get a chance to meet and talk with Chip Kidd at an autograph signing in Chicago, IL. He seemed very pleased with the book, and I could understand why. Just look at the cover for this book at the top of the page. The cover hearkens back to the youth of many. Charlie Brown and his friends were a constant read during my elementary school years, and because of them, I also took up an interest in drawing. This book is both a testament to Schulz's work, and the characters that we all know and love.

This book is a good example of how good Charles M. Schulz's comic strip "Peanuts" was, even this late in it's run (1998). Some really good material appears in this book, including appearances by Snoopy as a revolutionary war soldier, Charlie Brown and Snoopy going to a dance where Snoopy imagines himself as F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby, and more strips featuring the entire Peanuts gang. Rerun was also starting to shape up very nicely as a major Peanuts player in the mid-to-late 90's, as can be seen in this collection. Now if someone would stop coloring in the daily strips, (They're supposed to be in black and white! Why do you think all that dotted shading is in there?) and print the Sunday strips without reformatting the art and dropping a frame per strip, maybe future Peanuts books would get FIVE stars.

This wonderful book contains 168 pages of Peanuts cartoons, and all of them are in color! All of these 1998 cartoons are reproduced in wonderful quality, and are a joy to read. Snoopy's brothers (Spike, Olaf and Andy) are here, including Spike spending time in the trenches of World War I! Also, in this book, we get to learn where the zambonis go at night, see Snoopy at Valley Forge, and see Woodstock become a test pilot.

This is a great book! My daughter had some money saved up, and when she saw this book, she just had to get it. After that, she spent hours poring over it, and reading the stories aloud. She loves this book, and considers her money well spent. We both highly recommend this book.

Hey, I like the color! I wish the rest of the critics of this particular format would be quiet! No, it may not have been in color when you saw it in the newspaper, but don't you think Charles Schulz would have liked to have added color to it? I think it looks great! Let's see more from Ballantine books!

This newly re-released version of classic Peanuts fare is entitled "We're Right Behind You, Charlie Brown", and it does indeed deliver all it advertises. This is great stuff, culled from a time when all of us growing up in the sixties were slavishly devoted to what Linus, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Schroeder did and said from stripo to strip. Schulz showboats his best baseball segments, leaving one wondering as to how gullible good old Charlie Brown can be. Yet, at the same time it is not a book devoted to one set of segments at all. Instead, it sulls the very best oand most classic of the strips, and gives them the full articulation they deserve.

I spent some time on this book reading it to my friend's grand daughter, and she really loves Snoopy. Of course, we happened to have my daughter's bassett hound laying down next to us on the couch as we read! Now she looks at him with greater respect and devotion.Hahaha. At any rate, all your favorite Peanuts characters are here, unresolved existential doubts and all, and their manifest insecurities are showing. It is great fun, and greatly nostalgic for those of us who remember when these comic strips originally ran. Enjoy!

"We're Right Behind You, Charlie Brown" offers more classics Sunday "Peanuts" strips from 1958-1964, but do not expect what you find within to live up to the title, because Lucy and Snoopy in particular seemed determine to drive poor Charlie Brown crazy. This particular collection offers some of Charles M. Schulz's best baseball strips, with Linus showing his ability to field the deep fly ball, Snoopy showing that a glove is not absolutely necessary, and Lucy learning a spitball is an illegal pitch. There are also several strips having to do with winter and the fun of snow. I also think this collection offers up the first attempt of Charlie Brown to kick a football held by Lucy, but do not hold me to that speculation. But my favorite is the one where Linus proves empirically that talking to Lucy is like talking to a brick wall. You will also recognize a couple of this strips as having made their way into some of the animated "Peanuts" specials from the Sixties (remember pantophobia, the fear of everything?). For more Sunday funnies from this same period, which is clearly the heyday of "Peanuts," check out "Sunday's Fun Day, Charlie Brown."

This is the eigth Peanuts reprint book. This book contains strips from 1958-64. Published by Holt, Rinehart And Winston.