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The late 1960s are considered the golden age of Peanuts; did this book live up to the hype? January 19, 1967 (page nine) we get a Linus gag featuring his calligraphic lettering when playing tic-tac-toe against Lucy. He sure won't be the one to mess up the board! January 22 (page ten) is a Sunday strip about Sally adamantly not touching Snoopy after she washes for supper. Her hysterical reaction to Snoopy's mischievous teasing is hilarious, but people do get worked up about trivial matters. January 31 (page fourteen) is a classic Lucy-Schroeder bit about his fixation on all things Beethoven, and February 23 (page twenty-four) is a nice spot of humor about the human impulse to resist imposition on our leisure time. February 27 (page twenty-six), Charlie Brown asks Linus how to deal with being universally disliked. Charlie Brown's aversion to Linus's call for honest introspection is a reaction we all tend to have. I love Charlie Brown's simile on March 15 (page thirty-two) after his baseball team loses. His comparison of defeat to dropping your ice cream cone on the sidewalk is fitting. When Lucy strikes out in a baseball game March 26 (page thirty-seven), Charlie Brown's frantic struggle to not clear his throat and make her think he's going to criticize her is a perfect Peanuts- joke.

Linus and Charlie Brown converse on April 15 (page forty-five), Linus asking if it's best to solve problems immediately or delay. Charlie Brown's response is an earnest glimpse at the wishful nature of humans. Snoopy as the "Cheshire Beagle" acts as centerpiece for a week's worth of jokes, with April 21 (page forty-eight) being the funniest. I love Schroeder's sardonicism at Lucy's expense on May 1 (page fifty-three), about how "drab this world would be without the sound of children's voices�. In my edition of this book, the May 1 strip is repeated in error where May 3 should be. A series of jokes about using a "NYAAH!" taunting sound has begun by May 4 (page fifty-four), and that day's final panel is vintage, hilarious Charlie Brown. May 5 is deceptively insightful about the damage innocuous teasing can do in a relationship if it inflicts a wound that festers, and May 15 (page fifty-nine) is another smart Charlie Brown simile, comparing receiving a chain letter to finding gum on the bottom of your shoe. It's much the same as being infected by a computer virus.

A storyline launched May 22 and 23 (page sixty-two) sees Linus patting Woodstock-like birds on the head. His patting makes them happy, but others look at him funny because most boys don't find satisfaction patting birds on the head. Lucy is outraged that Linus has turned her into a laughingstock, but May 27 (page sixty-three), she approaches the birds herself for a pat. They scatter before she gets close enough, calcifying her resentment. Not everyone has Linus's radiant, welcome touch; in his own words on May 23, "I think I've found my calling!". May 31 (page sixty-five) may be the finest strip of this story, Linus arguing that if he and the birds are happy because he pats them on the head, people have no cause to object. The whole story arc may be the best in the first twenty years of Peanuts. June 6 (page sixty-eight) sees Linus and Sally musing over what it might be like to have a do-over in life; do we ever really learn enough that a do-over would succeed? July 4 (page eighty) is a great visual gag, Linus's hair blown back by Lucy's shouting, and July 11 (page eighty-three) forwards the concept with a superb final line from Linus about his sister's yelling. Linus threatens Snoopy on August 17 (page ninety-nine) if the beagle won't unhand his blanket, and Snoopy's reflection on his own decision to back down is intriguing. How many of us lead lives "full of unsuffered consequences" because we avoid things that probably would never occur? We get a great meta Sunday strip September 17 (page one hundred twelve), the cast of characters on Charlie Brown's baseball team turning a mound conference into a debate on the nature of human suffering.

Shades of the 1972 animated special Snoopy, Come Home are evident in the "No dogs allowed" September 21 (page one hundred fourteen) strip. Charlie Brown and Frieda trade words on a beautiful afternoon October 7 (page one hundred twenty), but Charlie Brown concludes that the best way to preserve such a day is to hide in bed so no bad memories mar it. October 15 (page one hundred twenty-four) is an insightful Sunday. After feeding Snoopy, Charlie Brown comments that he ran out of dog food so he had to give cat food instead. Snoopy is sickened, imagining what gross things the crude food is doing to his insides...but Charlie Brown reveals he'd only been joking. It's funny how we coerce ourselves into false sensations that fit our narrative priors. 1968 begins on a note of frankness as Lucy asks Charlie Brown on January 3 (page one hundred fifty-eight) how it feels to know he'll never be heroic. He protests that he may well be a hero someday...but deep down haven't most of us resigned to a life that's less than we aspired to? A joke from the 1975 animated Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown shows up February 13 (page one hundred seventy-six), and February 27 (page one hundred eighty-two) Charlie Brown makes pertinent observations about chronic anxiety. Sometimes I feel "My stomach hates me" too, Charlie Brown.

April 14 (page two hundred two) makes no direct mention of Snoopy as the "Easter Beagle" but has him dancing around hiding eggs like in the animated special. April 28 (page two hundred eight) is a Sunday that sees Snoopy fretting because he saw a bug in his supper dish earlier. Charlie Brown brings his meal, but surely he removed the bug carcass...right? Snoopy goes crazy worrying, but we know Charlie Brown won't leave him in limbo. I love this particular day’s good heart. April 29 (page two hundred nine), Snoopy leaves for the World's Wrist Wrestling Championship in Petaluma, and Charlie Brown's reflection on his departure feels so true. "(Goodbyes) always make my throat hurt...I need more hellos." I hear that, Charlie Brown. July 23 (page two hundred forty-five), Charlie Brown gets knocked upside down on the pitcher's mound by a batted ball, and Lucy casually hangs his cap over his shoes that are pointed skyward. No one reacts to Charlie Brown being upside down as the game progresses, which often happens in life: something knocks us topsy turvy and others expect us to carry on as usual. A historic day for Peanuts arrives July 31 (page two hundred forty-eight) with the first appearance by eventual series regular Franklin, and August 11 (page two hundred fifty-three) gifts us a classic Lucy the psychiatrist Sunday strip. She presses Charlie Brown to encapsulate a philosophy he can guide his life by, and his off-the-cuff answer�"Life is like an ice cream cone...you have to learn to lick it!"—is now one of my favorite Peanuts quotes.

Ah, yes...August 15 (page two hundred fifty-five), Charlie Brown has a chance to pitch a stellar baseball game and earn the admiration of the Little Red-Haired Girl. His neuroses turn him into a mess of jitters, incapable of starting the game. How often do deep-seated insecurities betray us in nasty ways? August 24 (page two hundred fifty-eight) is our first actual glimpse of Lila, the girl who Snoopy has been carrying on about for most of this book. Their interaction here is the basis for Snoopy, Come Home. Linus eloquently describes his sentiments for his blanket on September 11 (page two hundred sixty-six), offering insight into why we treasure things beyond objective value. We're treated to one of the funniest strips in the collection December 11 (page three hundred five), Sally delightfully flubbing a line in the A Visit from St. Nicholas poem. December 31 (page three hundred fourteen) is a comment on how the years slip out of our grasp one at a time without any real improvement to how we live. What is it like to be "stupid old Charlie Brown"? Most of us know the answer all too well.

Following a stumble in the 1965-1966 volume, The Complete Peanuts bounces back in �67 and '68 with some of the slyest, funniest, wisest, most resonant material Charles Schulz ever created. The storyline about Linus and his little bird friends stands out for its nuanced exploration of the need to be assertive when you find the thing that gives your life meaning. Some of us Linuses win the confrontation and others lose, but we must take advantage of our one chance to get behind life's controls and play. The �67 and '68 Peanuts collection is on par with or better than any of the first eight volumes, children's literature that can be appreciated by anyone. It's hard to believe Schulz could do any better in 1969.