It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (Mini Ed) (Peanuts (Running Press)) [Hardcover]

Charles M. Schulz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Peanuts (Running Press) | Publication Date: September 21, 2004

First aired in 1966, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has become a staple of Halloween and one of the most beloved holiday specials in history. This charming full color abridgement of the classic animated story features a hangtag with a custom charm and all the lovable antics of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the Peanuts Gang.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Every year, as the leaves start turning gold and the night air gets chilly, children all over the world begin dreaming of the Great Pumpkin... Well, at least one faithful child does. Poor Linus. While Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, and the gang make preparations for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties, this stalwart believer risks their ridicule to write his annual letter to the mystical orange orb, in hopes that this year he'll be able to catch sight of his hero as he rises from the most sincere pumpkin patch around to fly through the air with his bag of toys for all the children.

For over 35 years, children have eagerly anticipated Halloween, not just for the tricks and treats, but because they know their favorite television special will be aired. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is based on this TV program, so now fans can enjoy the Halloween antics of the Peanuts gang any time. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Charles Monroe Schulz (1922 -2000) was a 20th-century American cartoonist best known for his Peanuts comic strip. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Dena and Carl Schulz. His nickname "Sparky" was given by his uncle, after the horse Spark Plug in the Barney Google comic strip. He attended St. Paul's Richard Gordon Elementary School, where he skipped two half-grades. As a result, he was the youngest in his class when he attended St. Paul Central High years later, which may have been the reason why he was so shy and isolated as a young teenager. After his mother died in February, 1943, he was drafted into the army and sent to Camp Campbell in Kentucky. He was then shipped to Europe two years later to fight in World War II. After leaving the United States Army in 1945, he took a job as an art teacher at Art Instruction Inc., which he attended before he was drafted. First published by Robert Ripley in his Ripley's Believe It or Not!, then in a series of chronicles, The Saturday Evening Post, his first regular comic strip, Li'l Folks was published in 1947 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. (It was in this strip that Charlie Brown first appeared, as well as a dog that looked much like Snoopy). In 1950 he approached the United Features Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. This strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957-1959), but abandoned that strip due to the demands of the success of Peanuts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Running Press Miniature Editions; Min edition (September 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762420332
• ISBN-13: 978-0762420339
• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 3.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Comic Strips > Peanuts
  • #53 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Re-Drawn Book Adapted From the TV Special, August 25, 2002

By 

Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Paperback)

I almost feel like a traitor saying anything less than praise for this book featuring the Peanuts Gang created originally by Charles M. Schulz. I, like millions of others, grew up with Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Violet, Snoopy, Pig Pen, Schroeder, and Sally. Every year at Halloween I looked forward to seeing the story of sincere Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. This book contains all the characters and it re-tells essentially the same story but it has been illustrated by Paige Braddock rather than Schulz and adapted by Justine and Ron Fontes and seems to have lost something in the process. The Peanuts gang always was kind of surly with each other, calling names like Blockhead, pulling footballs out from each other and laughing at one another's expense. In this story, of course, Linus is the brunt of the teasing because he has undying faith in the mythical Great Pumpkin. For years I loved watching the Charlie Brown cartoon specials, the catchy piano jazz theme and the short, big-headed kids with their flat feet and funny facial expressions. Who could help loving Snoopy as the Red Baron or little Woodstock? These cartoons have always had a decidedly adult sense of humor, sometimes rather dark humor even though children the world over have loved the cartoon kids themselves.
This book doesn't work, in my opinion, precisely because it is NOT the TV movie. As a picture book it is placed directly into the world of children's literature and as such, the innocence of the readership makes satire seem inappropriate and it comes off as bad-tempered, impatient and indifferent to the feelings of others. This is not something I want to convey to children and it is not something I like to see done to a classic. Most of the pictures show facial expressions on the kids that are either discouraged, sad, taunting or angry. There's even anguish on one little face. There are only a few smiles.
It is touted as the 35th Anniversary edition but it really doesn't celebrate much of an anniversary because it is an off-shoot of the real thing...sadly not too close to the real thing, in fact. I got this book because I had feelings of fond nostalgia for Linus and his vigil in the pumpkin patch but it made me question why I ever liked it in the first place, and that's sad.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as the Christmas one, September 29, 2006

By 

Dana P. Barrick "Anna" (West Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic (Paperback)

If you own the Christmas edition one then the Great Pumpkin one is in the same format. It has interesting facts, two piano score pages,and the colored story of it. It is worth your money and is good for any Peanuts fans collection.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Re-illustrared for your displeasure..., December 16, 2001

By 

bill b. (the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Paperback)

Um, don't really know who Paige Braddock is, or what she's doing here. When I was young there was a book adaptation which featured artwork from the tv special itself, including Snoopy's wild dogfight with the Red Baron. Tough to support a "newly re-drawn" version, especially one that's done after the creator's passing.