"A Charlie Brown Christmas" Comes to the iPad

charliebrownChildhood classic A Charlie Brown Christmas has made its way to the iPad as an interactive book that Mashable describes as "spectacular" and "like magic".

The app turns the 1965 television special into an interactive children's book, giving kids (and nostalgic adults) the chance to "play Schroeder's piano, finger paint with the gang, go carolling with the Peanuts choir, and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest".

A Charlie Brown Christmas was built by Loud Crow Interactive, an app development firm in Vancouver that specializes in turning book content into interactive digital apps.

This isn't Loud Crow's first experience turning a classic children's tale into an iPad app. Last year, the company created interactive interpretations of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and William Wallace Denslow's The Night Before Christmas.


A Charlie Brown Christmas is a universal app, designed for both iPhone and iPad, and is $6.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
apple c1

Apple Unveils 'C1' as First Custom Cellular Modem

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:08 am PST by
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e. The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store Permanently Closing at Struggling Mall in Chicago Area

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:46 pm PST by
Apple is permanently closing its retail store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago area. The company confirmed the upcoming closure today in a statement, but it has yet to provide a closing date for the location. Apple Northbrook opened in 2005, and the store moved to a larger space in the mall in 2017. Apple confirmed that affected employees will continue to work for the...

Top Rated Comments

mkrishnan Avatar
173 months ago
Awww... of all the Charlie Brown apps on the iPad, you're the Charlie Brownest. :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mtbdudex Avatar
173 months ago
Has it been properly sanitized for political correctness? I'm always stunned to see that this is still allowed to be broadcast on TV.
You mean this little bit of timeless magic?


"And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid ... And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." - Linus Van Pelt
Hmm, what's politically un-correct with the above??
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
marc11 Avatar
173 months ago
I must be the only person on the planet that never cared for this Charlie Brown special. The animations are terrible, the music is like Chinese water torture and the plot line so thin you could read newsprint through it.

Bah...Humbug...Good Grief!!!

Maybe you weren't played with when you were a kid, or maybe you do not have kids or both, but shows like this, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph etc harken back for a lot of us of a happier time when we were kids. These specials, along with things like the Hess Truck commercials reminded us that Christmas was almost here. It added to the excitment that bult up over the weeks between Thanksgiving and Crhistmas, to the point where you almost exploded with anticipation.

(for those of us that celebrated Christmas, so this doesn't ring true for everyone of course)

And now, for my kids, the joy comes again, I see it in them, how excited they get, the joy the season brings to them, it is a tradition for us.

It isn't about the quality of the show, it is about the message in the show, the meaning of the holiday season, the joy and happiness the season brings....if are an adult and celebrate Christmas and do not get that, it is too bad, you are missing one of the last true joys of childhood. (and yes, I get my kids a Hess truck every year too, have since the day they were born)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
173 months ago
While that album may be the most sold, it doesn't make it good music. I find it irritating, not inspirational.
It's Christmas music. Something tells me you'd be irritated whoever had made it. It's very good piano work by Vince and that is why it is the most sold album. It is good Christmas music.


That said, it doesn't bother me that other people, especially kids, enjoy the program. I'm just a bit surprised at myself for not finding anything in the program that I find enjoyable.
Why bother posting in a thread about it then ?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
173 months ago
I must be the only person on the planet that never cared for this Charlie Brown special. The animations are terrible, the music is like Chinese water torture and the plot line so thin you could read newsprint through it.

Bah...Humbug...Good Grief!!!
Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas is the most sold Christmas album there is. What's wrong with piano music ?

The animation is standard 1965's Peanuts fare, the plot line is typical Christmas "Joy and Happiness".
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikarl67 Avatar
173 months ago
Loud Crow

Loud Crow also does the Sandra Boynton Book adaptations. Fantastic iPad apps for anyone with toddlers.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)