Happy New Year, Charlie Brown

This has one of my all-time favorite lines. Sally wonders to Charlie Brown, when will her Sweet Babboo invite her to the party? Linus responds from outside, "I AM NOT YOUR SWEET BABBOO! AND I WOULDN'T INVITE YOU TO A GARAGE SALE!"

I think this also marks the only appearance ever of the Little Red Haired Girl, whom we not only see, but also find out that her name is Heather.

Poor Charlie Brown... trying to learn to dance, read War and Peace, make an appearance at at New Year's Party, and still deal with his crazy dog!

"No book report has ever been finished by just reading the dust jacket."

The history of Charlie Brown is a timeline of things that happened while he was looking the other way. Everyone has that story of how they left the ballgame early and missed the greatest play in sports history. Poor Charlie Brown lives every day like that. You can keep your Willie Loma and John Procter. The greatest tragic hero in American literature is a boy named Charlie Brown.

This is a very good special, and it includes the famous "Pig-Pen" Hoedown scene.

Due to an unfinished homework assignment over holiday break, Chuck Brown is left to read War & Peace while everyone else parties. The two songs in this special, about dancing (Slow, Slow, Quick Quick) and musical chairs are entertaining. Altogether, worth the watch if you are a Peanuts fan.

The teacher assigns Charlie Brown's class to do a book report on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Peppermint Patty tells Charlie Brown about her New Year Party. He drops in on dance class and Peppermint Patty grabs him. He continues to struggle with the book while she keeps dropping hints about an invitation. He tells her about inviting the little red haired girl, Heather. He decides to put the invitation in her mail slot but his hand gets caught. At the party, Peppermint Patty wins musical chairs and continues to drop hints on the clueless Charlie Brown. He is left alone reading the book and falling asleep. Heather shows up and Charlie Brown miss her. In the end, he gets a D- for his book report. Even worst, they have to read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

I just can't get over that Charlie Brown is reading War and Peace. It's pretty outlandish. I do like a jealous Peppermint Patty. She has a great awkward charm about her. They could have had more fun with her and Marcie in this one. The style is still as charming as ever.

First off, I remember first watching this Charlie Brown special on Disney Channel before 1995 began. Also, Charlie Brown is to read Tolstoy's novel, "War and Peace," during Christmas vacation. This is not really grade school material. It is more for college students. If I was assigned to read a lengthy novel during vacation taking a college course, I'd pick a Jules Verne novel like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" or "Around the World in 80 Days." I also remember when this special ran on Nickelodeon at one time or another.

My favorite part of this Peanuts special is the musical chairs game. I always like to watch this special to ring in the new year, but I don't thinkI'd want to read "War and Peace." It's too lengthy for me to read.