First sentence: Everyone has heard of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Maybe you've seen the Peanuts Movie or read the Peanuts comic strip in the newspaper.
Premise/plot: This biography is a Level 3 Ready-to-Read title published by Simon & Schuster. There is a LOT of text, but it's not bare of illustrations completely. (But don't expect a lot of illustrations of the Peanuts characters themselves.) The book provides basic information on Charles M. Schulz: how he loved to draw even as a child, his becoming a soldier during World War II, his career as a cartoonist, the fame and success he found as a result of his Peanuts characters, his death in 2000.
My thoughts: The book promises A LOT to readers. "By the end of this book you'll know everything there is to know about the artist behind these characters, Charles M. Schultz, and his incredible comic strip. You'll be a History of Fun Stuff Expert on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang!" Does the book deliver on its promise? I'd almost wish it hadn't been so boastful and exuberant about how much of an EXPERT you'll suddenly become just as a result of reading this 48 page book. I felt let down that I didn't learn more, that not much was actually said about the characters themselves, that not much was said about the stories and themes of the comic strips. If you weren't already familiar with the Peanuts characters, you'd hardly be inspired to seek them out based on this book (in my opinion.) Yes, it's packed with facts, you might say, but the facts in and of themselves don't make for a compelling, fascinating read. The book reads more like a dull list of unconnected facts.
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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