Schulz is becoming more and more confident in his writing and artwork by this time; the artwork especially has an assured, effortless look to it. Snoopy has become a particularly intriguing character here, filled with whimsy, playfulness, and a definite awareness of his self in the universe. Charlie Brown has been called Everyman, but I think the title belongs to Snoopy. This volume introduces Frieda (and her cat, Faron), a definitely minor character marked by her self-absorption with her naturally curly hair, and her tendency to rudely critique the faults of others. Linus gets glasses here, although they would only be used sporadically, eventually to be forgotten (perhaps he got contacts). Lucy is starting to develop more of a personality as she comes out of babyhood. There is a curious skewed aging process in this strip, with some characters aging more quickly than others, until there is a near-parity in their maturations. It's a pleasure to see a fine strip again; many of these panels I have not seen since they first appeared in the newspapers. ( )