With text and art adapted from the classic TV special, this picture book retains the familiar characters and story line wherein Charlie Brown searches for the true meaning of Christmas. The book's large-size illustrations sit opposite crisp, white pages of text. The result is attractive but no match for the real thing.

This limp adaptation proves that it takes more than pop-up paper sculptures to make a successful film-to-book transition. Some movable elements are amusing enough—Snoopy races by, towing Linus by his blanket, and sends Charlie Brown tumbling; a pull-out tab spins Charlie Brown around while the rest of the gang goof off—but by and large the tableaux are hopelessly static, and the narration is utterly pallid. "Then Charlie Brown spotted a small, scraggly pine tree. It had a wooden trunk and soft green needles. This little green one here seems to need a good home!' he said excitedly." It's not as though access to the animated special is limited in these days of DVD and video on demand; why, for the price of this book, you can buy a copy of the real thing and have a little left over. (Pop-up. 4-8)

PreS-Gr 2 On December 9, 1965, the animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas was originally aired on CBS, and a tradition was born. The book version of the story has been published many times over the last 50 years, with different authors taking on the challenge of adapting it to the page. This 50th anniversary edition presents a very streamlined tale, told in the present tense. Readers never find out, for example, that the play Charlie Brown is supposed to direct is a Nativity play. Still, the main points are all thereSnoopy's well-decorated dog house, little Sally's avaricious letter to Santa, Linus's brief but powerful reminder of the original Christmas story, and Charlie Brown's sad little tree, which becomes something special when the gang works together to decorate it. This paperback edition with glitter on the cover may not last for 50 years, but it hits the important notes and might do better with younger readers/listeners. VERDICT Buy a few extra copies of this perennial favorite. Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library