Chronicle Books Blog

Charles Solomon has written dozens of books on animation, and Chronicle Books is lucky to have him on board as author of The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation. The book covers the history of how the popular Peanuts comic strip became an even more popular animated special, which then became a series of specials (45 of them!) that have become fixtures of American pop culture. On December 18th I’ll be in front of the TV ready to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and sing along to “Christmastime is Here.” But until then, I asked Charles a few questions about the specials. As a bonus, you can also hear Charles on the KPCC show Off-Ramp talk about how A Charlie Brown Christmas almost never aired.

From Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales, 2002, watercolor by Dean Spille

Q: What drew you to write this book?

A: Initially, I was approached by Emily Haynes, my editor at Chronicle, and the Schulz Estate. I had interviewed Charles Schulz and Bill Melendez several times, and liked and respected both men. Those memories, plus my fondness for many of the specials made it easy to accept the assignment. And I was happy work with Emily and the people at Chronicle again. (This sounds like puffery, but it’s true.)

Q: You were able to get comments from several big names in modern animation, like Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Ralph Eggleston. What are the main ways that the Peanuts specials influenced them?

A: I think my friend Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) summed it up when he said, “People ask me, ‘Where did you get your style?’ It had to come from the things I saw as a kid. If you went back in time and changed what I saw, I would draw differently today.” Animators saw those specials as kids and they clearly made a lasting impression. Many of their best moments offer examples of compact storytelling and simple but effective animation: Talented kids learn from those examples, just as they learn from the great films of Walt Disney and Hayao Miyazaki.

Q: A film is 50% visual and 50% audio, how did the team come up with the voice style of the kids, Snoopy and the adults?

A: Casting a voice for any character the audience already knows from a comic strip poses a challenge: Everyone who reads the strip “hears” the character in their head. The voice actor has to sound so right for the character that the performance erases the preconceived ideas. John and Faith Hubley were the first to use real children’s voices—rather than adult actors imitating children. Hubley had worked with Bill Melendez at UPA and Melendez admired his work enormously. I also suspect the filmmakers realized that children’s voices would lend an authenticity to the dialogue. Bill Melendez supplied Snoopy’s “voice:” originally he just did the noises for a temporary “scratch” track, but everyone, including Charles Schulz, liked them so well, they stayed.

Q: There must be a lot of challenges in taking a static strip and making it into a film. What are some of the most important factors in that success?

A: Translating a strip from the printed page to the screen poses myriad difficulties. Comic strip artists draw their characters in the most effective poses and from angles that look the best. Schulz usually drew Charlie Brown in either a profile, full-face or three-quarter view. Animators have to turn the characters in space and move them in ways that may involve awkward drawings: they can’t just use those “good” poses and angles. Because Schulz’s were so simple, even a slight mistake—the shape of the nose, the placement of an eyebrow—was glaringly apparent on screen.

Q: You interviewed Dave Brubeck who said, “There is a mixture of sadness and joy in the Peanuts characters. Their all-too-human disappointments and minor triumphs are reflected in [Vince] Guaraldi’s music. It is a child’s reality.” How important was the music to the specials?

A: I think the visuals, the dialogue and the music were three pillars on which the specials rested—remove any one of them and everything collapses. The music helps to set the tone and emotions, and it allows the artists to use animation without dialogue, so the audience doesn’t feel like its ears are being talked off—a problem in many recent animated films.

Q: What is your favorite Peanuts special?

A: My favorites are A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Great Pumpkin, but there are sequences in many of them I especially enjoy: Snoopy’s battle with the beach chair in Thanksgiving, or the “Fundamental-Friend-Dependability” sequence in Snoopy Come Home: Bill Littlejohn did some hilarious animation of Snoopy fussing with his dress, trying to keep tea from spilling on it.

Purchase: The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials

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April Whitney
Publicist

On November 18 and 19 PBS will air the next Ken Burns film, The Dust Bowl, a two-part documentary that tells the story of a pivotal time in American history. Chronicle Books has published the companion book, The Dust Bowl: An Illustrated History written by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns.

I found the book and film fascinating, so I asked co-author Dayton Duncan some questions about the project. After the interview, check out the Scribd excerpt from the book, and be sure to tune into the film later this month.

Q: The Dust Bowl is called “the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history” but it seems to be a distant memory for us today. Why did your team decide to approach this subject?

A: In 1990, researching my book Miles From Nowhere, about the most sparsely settled counties in the United States, I spent some time in the southern Plains, where I met a number of survivors of the Dust Bowl. The stories they told me were incredible—of cowering in their homes, with rags stuffed into the cracks of doors and windows in a vain attempt to keep the dirt from enveloping them; of dust storms that turned day to night; of the very landscape being rearranged; and of not just cattle and crops being killed, but young children, too, from the dirt in the air. I decided then that I’d like to return to the topic in greater detail, and so it went on “the list” that Ken and I keep about films we’d like to do. As our work on our National Parks series wound down, we decided to turn to the Dust Bowl.

Q: I was blown away by how much the people in the Midwest endured during that time: decimated crops, plagues of grasshoppers, days where they couldn’t see the sun, children suffocating in their sleep. It’s no wonder that a quarter of the population packed-up and left. What motivated those to stay and how did they sustain themselves?

A: It’s amazing that anyone stuck it out, but in fact 75 percent of the people of the Dust Bowl remained on the land through the decade-long crisis. I think the main reason was that this had become their home. In most cases, their farm was the first time they had owned any land (they were landowners not tenant farmers), and they were determined to keep it. These were tough people. As one of our interviewees said, many people left, but those that stayed “were the hardy ones.” It’s worth noting that without an incredible array of federal programs from the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, who refused to abandon the people of the Plains, the exodus would have been much more extensive. Most of our survivors told us that without the help they got from the government—commodities to keep from starving, a modest paycheck from the WPA or CCC or NYA, assistance with their farm—their families simply could not have made it. But more than anything, it was their grittiness that kept them on the land.

Q: What are some of most important, long-lasting ramifications of the Dust Bowl?

A: The Dust Bowl drove a quarter of the people living on the southern Plains somewhere else, and that region of the country still remains one of the most sparsely settled areas of the nation. The Dust Bowl also gave rise to a better understanding of some farm practices—contour plowing, crop rotation, etc.—that most farmers use today, as well as the creation of the Soil Conservation Service, which works to encourage farmers to use better practices. At the same time, it brought the federal government into the agriculture business in ways it never had before; and it’s never left.

I would hope another ramification would be that it taught us all a lesson in humility in terms of adapting to Nature rather than thinking we can ignore Nature; but I’m not sure that lesson has been completely learned.

Q: After reading the book and seeing the film I thought, “Why wasn’t this covered more in my history classes?” I felt the same way after I saw “The War.” There is something about how your team approaches these subjects that makes it very personal and relevant in a way that I think our educational system doesn’t. Do you often hear this sentiment from fans? Do teachers now use these films in their classes?

A: We try to tell history from the bottom up, not the top down, and we are always intent on the personal stories of history-in-the-making, not out of a false sentimentality or desire for hyped drama, but because history is comprised of the stories of everyday people as well as of major figures and leaders. We pursue what Ken calls “emotional archeology” as well as the basics of what happened, and it’s that combination that I think bring our stories to life while at the same time adhering to high standards of accuracy and a willingness to embrace the complexities of history. Too often, history is taught as a dry list of dates and names; we try to make it human because that’s actually closer to the truth. And we’re continually gratified about the extent to which teachers across the nation use our books and films as part of their curricula.

Q: Although this happened over 70 years ago, the recollections of your interviewees seem so vivid. I was touched by many of their quotes. Can you tell us about the experience of interviewing them?

A: Because of sheer actuarial tables, working on a story set in the 1930s, a “young” interviewee for this project was 85 years old; most were older, sometimes much older, in their late 90s. So we had elderly people telling us stories from their childhood. And we were dealing with a generation that is known for not always wanting to talk about their lives. What continually amazed me, once we settled down into an interview however, was how willing the survivors were to tell their stories—and how incredibly vivid those memories were. When the Coen brothers told their story of the death of their little sister, Rena Marie, in 1935, they told it as if it had happened yesterday. I think part of it was that the memories were still fresh because what had occurred in the Dust Bowl was so overwhelming and unforgettable. And I think many of the survivors decided to tell their stories because we told them the truth: they are the last ones capable of telling these otherwise unbelievable stories through their personal experience; the chance for such personal testimony is fading quickly.

Q: The book has over 300 images, many of which seem surreal. What role did the camera play in the effort to combat the disaster?

A: In telling the story, we had access to a treasure trove of photographs taken by some of the nation’s best photographers of the 1930s—such as Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein and others, who were hired by Roosevelt’s Farm Security Administration (FSA) partly as a way to provide much-needed jobs to talented people but principally to accumulate a photographic record of the times. In the 1930s, those photographs were used to show the rest of the nation the extent of the crisis on the southern Plains; now they are an incredible collection that brings the past to life. We also were thrilled to gather a great number of photographs from family albums and small historical societies—photographs that have never been published before—that augment the FSA photos. Some of those are as stunning as the ones by the professionals, including several series of photographs taken in Elkhart, Kansas, and Hooker, Oklahoma, that vividly depict a dust storm descending on a town and ultimately inundating it. I’m still awestruck when I look at those photos.

Q: What can today’s Americans learn from this disaster and this project?

A: There are a number of lessons from the Dust Bowl. Bubbles always burst, and booms always go bust, whether it’s with real estate, crop prices—or dot-com companies and financial markets. Places that have historically been struck by severe droughts can expect wet years to be followed by dry years. It’s part of human nature to ignore those facts, but it’s also part of history to remind us—to warn us—not to give in to those very human impulses that tempt us to ignore them. We need to be humble when dealing with the land and the environment. The Dust Bowl reminds us that if we treat the land carelessly, if we ignore what the environment is trying to tell us, if we become too arrogant in the face of Nature, we set ourselves up for catastrophe.

I think the Dust Bowl also has some lessons to tell about the positive role that the federal government can play in the lives of our citizens, especially when they’re confronted by disasters that would otherwise overwhelm them, their communities, and their states.

And I think it’s also a story about human perseverance, an inspiring example of how ordinary people will hold on in the face of incredible suffering to save their families and their homes.

Purchase: The Dust Bowl: An Illustrated History.

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One of the fun, quirky books that I am working on this season is Stick Man’s Really Bad Day, a wordless story told completely through a collection of safety signs. The book is humorous with lots of danger and intrigue. What will happen next? Does he survive being crushed a dozen different ways? Who is that mystery lady?

It’s a novel and entertaining concept, so I decided to interview author Steven Mockus who gave me a peek at how the book came to be.

How did you get the idea for Stick Man’s Really Bad Day?

For about ten years I’ve wanted to do a book that tells a story of a day in the life of the guy on stick figure signs by putting a bunch of his signs in sequence. Over the years friends and I would take photos and they’d slowly pile up, but there was something about trying to tell a continuous story through these photos with irregular lighting and such that just seemed like a collection of sign photos rather than telling the story of a character.

Lots of people including me enjoy signs where Stick Man’s having trouble with things (falling off cliffs, chased by sharks, machinery mishaps), but the Flickr group Stick Figures in Peril has already collected something like 20,000 of those photos. I was also interested in imagining his life when he’s not in peril, in his off-hours when he’s doing things like walking his dog, reading a book, giving up his seat on the bus to the elderly, and throwing trash away in the proper receptacle.

Thinking about him this way, he seems like a nice guy who also happens to have really terrible luck. However he also has amazing recuperative powers, and he just keeps right on going. He never seems to give up, no matter what mishap befalls him next. Realizing this as I put the book together, I found it sort of inspiring. There’s a Charlie Brown aspect to him that I relate to strongly.

Stick Man uses all real-world safety signs, but redrawn by an artist. Why not use the original photos?

This was the other thing that made the book feel like it finally would work—we decided that I would only use real signs to tell the story sequence (otherwise it’s cheating and you could just have anything happen to him), but that it would help with the visual consistency and help keep the focus on Stick Man as a character to have the actual sign images precisely re-rendered by an illustrator (Funnel, Inc.). We mention that the signs are all real on the back cover, and the book’s endsheets feature some of the actual photos used for the book. I’m really proud finally that I was able to get him from point A to disaster B and so on only using real sign images!

I know that in the development of the book, there was some discussion on the direction that the story would take. Did you set out to tell a certain story, or did you let the signage guide you?

When I was discussing the idea, several people suggested that Stick Man should meet a Stick Woman. That sounded like fun, but also much harder now to work out, in that there are so few signs of Stick Women, and also because that implies a love interest, and how to show that? At last I realized that I could have him meet a nurse through hospital signage and nurse call buttons. Showing him with a crush on the nurse I managed though a cardiology department sign, and a sign from a Japanese bus that demonstrates that you should give up your seat for a pregnant woman, someone with a broken leg, or someone who I guess has heart trouble, but really looks like he’s in love. Stick Man rides home from the hospital thinking about the nurse. Later they go out on a date, though he has some trouble on his bike on the way there.

What are some of the countries where you sourced these signs?

I’ve taken photos of signs myself in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Madrid, Tokyo, Dongguan, and Hong Kong, and gathered photos from other sources (friends, the Internet) to also be re-illustrated. It was a trip to Hong Kong last year that really inspired getting the story together. It’s such an international city, with great and helpful signage. I live in San Francisco, and as an international destination, I think we could do a much better job helping visitors though our signage. I’ve become a sign geek. It’s important to keep people safe and informed!

What is your favorite sign [or signs] from the book?

I don’t have a dog, and love dogs, so I have to say honestly the signs where he’s just walking the dog make me really happy, but I also like the (real!) image of a cow falling upside-down off a cliff toward Stick Man’s car, and the moment when his rescue boat is thumped by a humpback whale.

Parenting blogs and magazines love the book. Did you foresee that parents would share it with their kids?

I just heard that it was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection, which is really exciting! I loved books as a kid. My first book, How to Speak Zombie, was picked up by the Scholastic Book club, which was also really exciting. In grade school, I used to love getting the little folder paper book catalogs from the book club and checking off the boxes on the order form, getting the book order later and taking it home and just diving in. It wasn’t written for kids, though there’s nothing in it that’s not-for-kids. It’s meant to be enjoyed by anyone. I think we can all learn by Stick Man’s example.

April Whitney
Publicist

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I have worked with Boo, the World’s Cutest Dog for over a year now, and had the opportunity to hang out with him a few times—each time is a treasured memory. Several of my friends ask if he really is as cute and charming in person and the answer is—YES! Even if I didn’t work with him, I’d still say that Boo is the cutest dog ever.

This photo of Boo and me made me popular on Instagram.

Last month we had a top secret day planned where Good Morning America’s producer Suzanne and reporter Becky came to San Francisco to tape a segment in which Boo shows Becky around the city. This was inspired by his new book, Boo: Little Dog in the Big City. It was a secret since we had to get around the city and hit four different locations in a short amount of time. We couldn’t have any distractions, and Boo being recognized can surely cause distractions.

Boo gets ready for a romp in the sand.

We started at Alamo Square Park, sight of the Painted Ladies Victorian homes that have been made famous in TV shows like Full House and Suddenly Susan. It was fun to get out in the park and see Boo run around. A group of French tourists came up and started to take photos of Boo rather than the beautiful, famous homes that line the park.

We jumped in our cars and made our way to Ghirardelli Square, which smells like melted chocolate. Yum! Suzanne filmed Becky enjoying a hot chocolate with Boo. As I sat with Boo while the crew set-up, several tourists stopped to ask if they could take his photo, and I obliged. Interestingly, these folks from Italy and England didn’t know who Boo was, but they were so charmed by his cute face and friendly manner that they couldn’t resist.

This display in our lobby has been attracting street traffic.

Next shot was at the Chronicle Books bookstore. We planned to arrive early and set it up to look like a book signing, but we ended up being so late that the store was already open and filed with customers. So, Boo made the day for some local fans. Lucky for them that they had camera phones!

Boo is a professional waiting for his cue.

Our final stop was the beach at Crissy Fields, so we could get a good shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. As is often the case, we had to consider our other celebrity: the San Francisco Fog. It was still hanging on the bridge, obscuring the top third at noon. Ah well, what is San Francisco without the fog? We filmed anyway and were surprised at how many people stopped to see Boo. One woman said, “Can I take your dog’s picture? He looks just like Boo.” And when Becky told her it was Boo, I thought she might swoon. Yup. Boo has that effect on the ladies (and a lot of guys, too).

You can see the end result of 4 hours of driving, set-up and filming in this clip which aired on Good Morning America.

To celebrate Boo’s new book, Boo: Little Dog in the Big City, one lucky dog is going to get to experience San Francisco too! Enter Boo’s San Francisco Giveaway for a chance to win a trip for two (plus doggie!) to San Francisco courtesy of Virgin America, W San Francisco, The Brixton San Francisco, and 7×7 Magazine.

Each year at Comic-Con we bring a selection of our Pop Culture books to sell. It’s a great place to see how consumers react to our products, and to get feedback and an understanding as to what they want in future publishing. One of the surprises this year, at least to me, was how fast we sold out of our new reprint of The Art of Monsters, Inc. It was originally released in 2001 and was the first “Art of” book that we created. Not only was it the first, but it set the standard for our future “Art of” books which have received accolades from animation fans, professionals and historians who love to see the art and process that goes into making these films.

What surprised me wasn’t that customers liked the book; it was that our face-out display stopped passersby in their tracks. Several trotted up and asked, “Is this really The Art of Monsters, Inc.?” Once I assured them that it was, one remarked, “This book sells on eBay for hundreds of dollars. It’s been out of print forever!” I could see each person counting our stack, calculating whether to buy the 2 ½ pound book and carry it around the convention center, or chance returning later in hopes that we wouldn’t sell out.

By Saturday morning we had sold out. That day and the next several people came by to get a copy (the word was out) only to be disappointed. However, the good news is that since the book has been reprinted, there are plenty to go around in bookstores and online retailers. Matter of fact, you can buy one from Chronicle. The price is still $40, which is bad news for those folks selling them on eBay for three- to four times the amount, but great news for those fans who have been seeking copies.

Next up in our “Art of” series is The Art and Making of ParaNorman, which is fantastic, especially for those of us fascinated with the process of stop-motion animation. And just in case you are wondering, we are publishing The Art of Monsters University in Spring 2013. Hooray for Sulley and Mike!

April Whitney
Publicist

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