Here Comes the April Fool!

(Peanuts Parade 24)

by
Charles M. Schulz

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980, 186 pp.
ISBN: 0-03-057981-3

Genre: Comics
Subgenre: Comic Strip / Humor
Reviewed: 8/21/2011

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Comic Page

Synopsis

Here Comes the April Fool! is a collection of Peanuts comic strips written and drawn by Charles M. Schulz. This book includes cartoons from the years 1979 & 1980. All of the comic strips appear in black and white.

This collection contains the following storylines: World War I Flying Ace, Math Anxiety, Lucy: School Reporter, We're Number One, Roll the Dice, Beagle Scouts Take a Spring Hike, Woodstock Sings, Woodstock the Farmer, World War I Flying Ace in France, Charlie Brown in the Emergency Room, Beagle Scouts Go for a Hike, Unfair Treatment of Women Athletes, Field Trip to the Barber Shop, The Ceiling is Leaking, The Compass, Lucy's Christmas List, and Peppermint Patty's Hair Bow.

On October 2, 1950, Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers and ran until January 3, 2000 when Charles M. Schulz bid a fond farewell to all his readers in the final daily Peanuts newspaper strip. On February 12, 2000, Charles Schulz died on a Saturday evening, of complications from colon cancer in Santa Rosa, CA. He was 77 years old. On February 13, 2000, the final Sunday Peanuts newspaper strip appeared. "Charles M. Schulz (b. 1922) is the most widely syndicated cartoonist in history, with his work appearing in over 2,300 newspapers. He has published more than 1,400 books, won Peabody and Emmy awards for his animated specials, and is responsible for the most-produced musical in the American theatre, entitled "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown". And all this diversity and recognition and continuous success began over 50 years ago." (Illustration House)

Review

Here Comes the April Fool! is another fine collection of Peanuts comic strips. I have been reading about Charlie Brown and his gang of friends for over thirty years and I can safely say that these comic strips, although they don't really make me laugh out loud very much, always keep me highly entertained. What I love about Peanuts is the variety of characters that Charles M. Shultz created. After all, who doesn't love poor old wishy-washy Charlie Brown, crabby Lucy Van Pelt, optimistic Linus Van Pelt, opinionated Sally Brown, music-loving Schroeder, ever-sleepy Peppermint Patty and her smart sidekick Marcie, and imaginative Snoopy. Plus, there are quite a few supporting characters.

I really enjoy longer storylines. Some comic strips just do single shots, but Mr. Schulz often created week-long storylines, or sometimes even longer ones. This book is full of them. One thing I do not like about the Peanuts Parade books is that the comic strips are not necessarily shown in the order that they were originally published in the newspaper. I find that a little annoying. Actually, I find that quite a bit annoying. It wouldn't bother me if a Sunday comic strip that had nothing to do with a long storyline was in the middle of that same storyline. I can figure it out. The Sunday comic strips are frequently clumped together in groups between the longer storylines. I also wish that the dates appeared on each comic strip, like they do in the Garfield comic strips.

Here Comes the April Fool! is a great collection of comic strips that any lover of Peanuts will highly enjoy. Even if you are new to Charlie Brown and his friends, this group of comic strips will keep you entertained for hours and hours. It seems to me that the Peanuts gangs has always been part of my life and I perpetually have fun whenever I sit down and start reading a new book. I know that the book is about entertain me and make me smile. After all, who doesn't love Charlie Brown and his friends?