This is the Best Time of the Day, Charlie Brown is a collection of late seventies cartoons by the late Charles M Schulz taken from And A Woodstock In A Birch Tree Volume 3. It's not a terribly long book and far from the best Charlie Brown volume I've read but it does have its moments and it's always pleasant to enter the cosy world of Schulz for a time and see what Charlie Bown and his friends are up to. Charlie Brown is quite an unusual American icon because he's a complete failure at almost everything he does! It makes him endearing and likeable though and easier to relate to. 'Charlie Brown must be the one who suffers, because he's a caricature of the average person,' explained Schulz. 'Most of us are much more acquainted with losing than winning. Winning is great, but it isn't funny.' There is no major story thread here (something which sometimes occurs in Charlie Brown) but just a series of short vignettes that run for several pages at the most. The collection begins with Linus unwisely deciding to give his comfort blanket to Eudora because she takes a shine to it and smiles at him. 'It was a nice smile!' he offers by way of explanation. He's soon on the verge of a nervous breakdown without his blanket though, especially when Eudora refuses to give it back. Why does Linus carry a blanket around that he finds strangely comforting? 'It's hard to explain,' he replies when asked. Anyway, the blanket ends up in the possession of the dreaded cat that lives next to Charlie Brown and Snoopy. This is a famously large and ferocious cat that is never seen - except for the mighty swipes of a large paw that send Snoopy and Linus flying when they stealthily approach the garden with designs on the blanket. These blanket/cat capers are a decent start to the compilation.

There isn't nearly enough of Linus in this collection for me and, sadly, he more or less disappears after these early panels. Linus is the thoughtful curious side of Schulz and apt to make the most profound comments. He does though carry a comfort blanket around and believe in the Halloween Pumpkin! My favourite panels here I think are the ones with Peppermint Patty all at sea in her classes at school. Patty (Patricia Reichardt to give her her full name) is a tomboy and a great friend of Charlie Brown - who she secretly loves. While everyone refers to him by his full name, Patty uses the more familiar 'Chuck' when she feels inclined. Patty is determined, athletic and a born leader. Her only weakness is the classroom. 'The answer is ten! It isn't? Sorry Ma'am. Do you have any questions where the answer is ten?' These Patty themed pages are the best in the book and always fun. Asked by Marcie what she put down for question three in an exam, Patty replies, 'Green.' 'But the question is how much is 15 x 7?' replies Marcie. 'I thought maybe it was a trick question!' offers Patty by way of response. Patty's bewildered visit to a library is nice too. 'I'd like to take a book out. Which one? Oh, I don't care. How about a blue one?'

Lucy is her usual self here. She laughs aloud when Charlie asks if she has any self doubts and kicks Schroeder's piano away several times because - as usual - he never pays her any attention. I always like it when Lucy sets up her roadside psychiatric help booth ('The Doctor is in!') outside her house. The neurotic Charlie is her only customer of course. Sadly though, there are only two pages featuring Lucy and her booth. As ever, Lucy is brutally honest and forthright in this collection. 'Maybe when you get to be a famous baseball player Charlie Brown they'll name a candy after you. It'll probably be hard to unwrap and have chocolate that melts all over your fingers!' It struck me reading these again recently how unrequited love is a big theme of Charlie Brown. Patty loves Charlie, Lucy loves Schroeder, Sally loves Linus, and Charlie loves the 'little-red haired girl' that we never see. In each case the object of affection is oblivious or indifferent to their admirer. Schulz made each of the characters reflect a part of his personality and also gave each one a very human weakness. Lucy, for example, is domineering, sarcastic and ultra confident. She probably wants to be the President (or the Queen maybe!) when she grows up. Her weakness though is Schroeder. It drives her mad that he'd rather play the piano on his own than talk to her.

It's quite good fun here when Snoopy takes his 'Beagle Scouts' (although it's just Woodstock and a few birds) camping and they get hopelessly lost in the snow. 'No Woodstock, I don't know why you've been standing here in a blizzard with these three idiots!' There is a real genius behind the simplicity of the art with just a few lines and some scratchy trees conveying a snow bound wilderness for Snoopy and his feathered friends to wander. Lovely panel too of Charlie and Sally looking out of the window through the snow and wondering where Snoopy has got to. The collection is rather dated of course but this is part of the fun. Cheryl Tiegs gets a mention by Snoopy (he met her once and she had great legs) but I'm not sure who Cheryl Tiegs is. Billie Jean King and Karl Malden also get referenced at some point or other. I've heard of them of course. There panels involving Charlie's younger sister Sally are enjoyable. Sally is one of my favourite characters in Charlie Brown. She's a complete pragmatist and always takes things at face value. Like Patty, Sally finds school a somewhat confusing and strange place. Sally has an amusing segment here where she prepares an elaborate speech about Santa for school but confuses Reindeer for 'Rain Gear' and is laughed at. It's the story of Sally's life!

This is the Best Time of the Day, Charlie Brown is not a vintage Schulz collection but it's not bad and there are one or two wonderful moments to reward the reader. It's worth adding to the collection if you are a fan and don't have this in any form yet. At the time of writing you can buy this used for next to nothing.