Security Blankets
Security Blankets: How Peanuts Touched Our Lives, a collection of heartwarming,
poignant, uplifting and celebratory tales of how Charles M. Schulz and his characters
have made an impact on us all, was published in April 2009 by Andrews McMeel Publishing,
a long-time participant in the Peanuts franchise.
The book is co-edited by Web guru Derrick Bang, author of 50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute
to Charles M. Schulz and Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings; and Don Fraser,
a former Peanuts master licensee for more than 35 years, and co-founder of Aviva
Enterprises and founder of Inetics Inc. Readers will discover more than 50 personal
anecdotes between the covers of Security Blankets, written by avid Peanuts fans and
"jes' plain folks" whose lives have been touched by Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of
the gang.
Publisher Andrew McMeel's Web site has this to say about the book:
Charles M. Schulz and his beloved comic strip, Peanuts, have changed the world.
In Security Blankets, Fraser and Bang present a heartwarming collection of 51 touching
true stories to show the connection people have with the adored cartoon. Stories, photos from
the contributors, and Peanuts artwork make this work extra special. The connections are so
strong they've even had the power to change people's lives.
Take, for example, the Vietnam POW, whose first piece of correspondence while in captivity
was a Snoopy card that included a picture of his wife and children. Or the 5-year-old boy
from Boston who demanded that his stuffed Snoopy accompany him to the hospital for a high-risk
surgery. Connections such as these show how Peanuts has become a security blanket for thousands.
This is chicken soup for the Peanuts lover's soul.
Excerpt from the book:
But what made this drawing different was the unique 'countdown calendar' that my father
had drawn on Snoopy's belly. Each square on the calendar, which my sisters and I would cross out,
meant that our dad was one day closer to coming home. Every time a square was marked off that
drawing, Snoopy brought a bit of happiness and security to a war-weary and scared ten-year-old
girl who desperately missed her Daddy.
Did Snoopy help bring my father safely home from the Vietnam War? Maybe, maybe not.
But to this day, whenever I see Snoopy -- especially when he's performing his happy dance -- my
heart is grateful and filled with loving memories of my Dad.
Security Blankets features:
- Full-color front and back covers, with photos (most in color) to accompany each of the 51 personal anecdotes;
- A brief foreword that explains the books's origins;
- An introduction by Judy Sladky, better known as "a close personal friend" of a certain world-famous beagle;
- Spot "line art" illustrations by Charles M. Schulz.
Some sample pages (click on each image to enlarge):
