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A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition | 
 enlarge | Author: Lee Mendelson
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $7.88
You Save: $7.07 (47%)
New (30) Used (17) Collectible (1) from $4.49
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 232004
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 8.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 006076659X
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9780060766597
ASIN: 006076659X
Publication Date: October 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Since its first airing, it's always a memorable night when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is on TV. After forty years, the animated special is still a favorite. This lushly illustrated tribute to the beloved television classic has many unique features, including: - Original animation art
- A look at the behind -- the -- scenes making of the cartoon
- Vince Guaraldi's original score and publication notes
- Interviews with the original child actors who were the voices of the Peanuts gang
- An introduction by the show's executive producer, Lee Mendelson
- And much more!
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition is a delightful and fitting salute to the holiday special that never fails to deepen your love of Christmas, touch your heart, and give you hope.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
A Treasure April 13, 2008
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition is a treasure for those -- like me -- who love this Christmas classic. It is a great "behind the scenes look" that includes photos of the cast of characters whose voices are so familiar. Give it as a gift to the "Peanuts Fan" in your life.
Philip D. Halfacre
Author, Genuine Friendship
A Christmas Treat for Peanuts' Fans December 24, 2007
While we've been treated to many Charles Schulz documentaries and remembrances over the years, "A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition" is the first book to focus on the first Peanuts' television special. The book includes in-depth interviews with producer Lee Mendelson, animator Bill Melendez, and Vince Guaraldi's children. This book is the ultimate backstage pass to the recording studio, with interviews with the original child actors who voiced the characters and sang on Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here." As a bonus treat, the script and original animation art round out the book.
A Very Nice Collection of Material! December 3, 2007
I loved this book! It has material for every fan of the famous TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I may not be musical, but if you are, this book includes the music. I am fond of the discussions of the people involved in creating the production of the TV show and the script. I will be using the script in my classroom for Reader's Theatre. The book has a lot of material that has meaning for me personally. I was young when this special was shown on television and it was always one of my favorites. The book was not a disappointment to read and own. I am very glad I bought it.
Christmas time is here... happiness and cheer... December 11, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Charlie Brown Christmas" is the crown jewel of Christmas specials. Heavy on holiday introspection, but with the dry wit and humor you'd come to expect from Charles Schulz's creations.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition" just expands that experience, by outlining how the famed special came to be -- the music, the animation, the voice acting, even the advertisement to get people to watch it. It's a charming, nostalgic little book, and a good accompaniment.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was spun up quickly, when Coca Cola wanted a Christmas special in less than a week -- and Charles Schulz's lovable loser Charlie Brown seemed to be the ticket. But the special was made very differently from other cartoons -- 2-D animation, no laugh track, uncutesy kids, and (horrors!) a jazz soundtrack. It was doomed to fail, they said.
Well, instead it became a booming hit, and has been running every December ever since. Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez reminisce in here about the much-loved Charles Schulz, and about Vince Guaraldi, who made the distinctive piano soundtrack, and why it's so beloved -- it dares to approach holiday ennui and commercialization, then dashes it away with Linus' description of Christmas' meaning.
As for the "making of" portion, there are storyboards, musical scores, test photos, clips of television reviews, and rare photos like Melendez and Schulz doing the football gag. Finally, there is the entire script of the special, framed by colourful stills from the cartoon.
You couldn't wring this much information from most half-hour animated specials, no matter how much fun they were. But it's a bit different with "Charlie Brown Christmas." It was so completely unusual -- and has proved to be so timeless -- that a book on the making of it, and its effect, seems completely right.
It's a very conversational, reminiscent book. It feels like sitting in a room with Melendez and Mendelson, listening to them reminisce about "Sparky." And we also get input from other people involved in the project, such as Christopher Shea (Linus), who talks about his famous "Second Chapter of Luke" speech, as well as odd bits of trivia (the little girl playing Sally had to be fed her lines).
The Christmas special is more than able to stand on its own, but "Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition" is a wonderful accompaniment. Full of interesting tidbits and history.
What's not to love ? December 4, 2006
This is the ultimate companion to the tv show. The art work is from the original show and the dialogue is a great bonus! The book is also packed with great trivia and information about the decisions "behind stage" that led to the creation of the ultimate Christmas Special.
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