Schulz’s enthusiasm for the word ‘Zamboni’ was contagious reading through the cartoons was great fun, as was seeing the miniature Zamboni machine, with Woodstock driving, that the company had made for Schulz. When I was there, there was a special exhibit of the many cartoon strips Schulz had made of Woodstock driving a Zamboni on an ice rink. This book borrowed heavily from that site and generally did a very good job, especially of the timeline of Schulz’s life.

I’ve been to the Charles Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, California and loved it.

Most of the time, the text is pitched at an adult audience, but every so often it slips into a voice more appropriate for a much younger reader. It’s in the reading that Beecroft’s work becomes a 3 rather than a 4 for me. Schulz told people exactly how life was in a simple, humorous but cutting way, and I'm grateful to have his talent in my life.Īlthough it’s a visual history, there’s quite a lot to read in this book. For a person that started out scribbling little animations in his notebook at school, and then to go on winning the hearts of people of all ages all over the world is phenomenal. The foreword to this wonderful book really pulled on the heartstrings. They were all unique and strong in some way, and although it was obvious to all that Lucy had a good voice that she wasn't afraid to use, she also had a soft spot for Charlie Brown and she knew him and how he worked almost as well as Snoopy. I love the early feminism involved with the females in the strips. One of my favourites was Schroeder, but not just because he was fanatical about Beethoven, but because after all of that time of Lucy leaning on his piano listening to his playing while looking into his eyes when she doesn't turn up one day, he notices, and it hits him hard that he might just miss this girl.I love it, and it makes me smile. The book is presented beautifully, with some wonderful visuals to enjoy, including some classic comic strips, some of which I remember favouring as a child. I needed to age to understand Schulz at his best.

I mean, I understood most of the humour, but I guess I didn't appreciate it until some more of my life had been lived. It's funny, because reading the books as a child is a totally different experience to me as an adult. Naturally, he passed that down to his eldest knowing of my love for the characters and general obsession with ink on paper. I had been exposed to the Peanuts series from a young age thanks to my Dad, who owned the entire book collection with added merchandise. I received this book as a gift a month or so ago, and it had been staring at me since to pick it up. This was such a wonderful book full to the brim of interesting information about the origins of Peanuts and it's creator, Charles M.

The Peanuts Book by Simon Beecroft