A Peanuts Christmas

Charles M. Schulz. Ballantine Books, $25.95 (160pp) ISBN 978-0-345-45351-8

It's not too late to order a few more stocking stuffers.... Among the Christmas titles that didn't arrive in time for our holiday reviews feature (""Holiday Roundup: Deck the Shelves,"" Sept. 23): A Peanuts Christmas by Charles M. Schulz unites a ""complete collection"" of Christmas-themed Peanuts strips, from 1950 to 1999, in one festively designed volume. Charlie Brown sends Santa a wish list and receives a form rejection slip; a costumed Peppermint Patty laments being cast once again as a sheep in the Christmas pageant (""Slouching towards Bethlehem, huh, sir?"" Marcie asks when Peppermint Patty trips); while Linus keeps searching for the true meaning of Christmas. Schulz's fans can watch the image of Charlie Brown evolve from his earliest incarnation to the universally recognized contemporary look, right before their eyes.

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