The Halloween Tree
by: Ray Bradbury
Amazon.com Review:
Special indeed are holiday stories with the right mix of high spirits and subtle mystery to please both adults and children--Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," forexample. Or Ray Bradbury's classic The Halloween Tree. Eight boysset out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by atall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind toautumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways ofcelebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. Bradbury's lyricalprose whooshes along with the pell-mell rhythms of children running atnight, screaming and laughing, and the reader is carried along by its sheerexuberance.
Bradbury's stories about children are always attended by dread--of change,adulthood, death. The Halloween Tree, while sweeter than his adultliterature, is also touched at moments by the cold specter of loss--whichis only fitting, of course, for a holiday in honor of the waning of thesun.
This is a superb book for adults to read to children, a way to teach them,quite painlessly, about customs and imagery related to Halloween fromancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Celtic Druidism, Mexico, and even acathedral in Paris. (One caveat, though: Bradbury unfortunately perpetuatesa couple of misconceptions about Samhain, or summer's end, the Halloween of ancient Celts and contemporary pagans.) This beautiful reprint edition hasthe original black-and-white illustrations and a new color painting on thedust jacket. --Fiona Webster
Product Description:
"A fast-moving, eerie...tale set on Halloween night. Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist
Special indeed are holiday stories with the right mix of high spirits and subtle mystery to please both adults and children--Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," forexample. Or Ray Bradbury's classic The Halloween Tree. Eight boysset out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by atall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind toautumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways ofcelebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. Bradbury's lyricalprose whooshes along with the pell-mell rhythms of children running atnight, screaming and laughing, and the reader is carried along by its sheerexuberance.
Bradbury's stories about children are always attended by dread--of change,adulthood, death. The Halloween Tree, while sweeter than his adultliterature, is also touched at moments by the cold specter of loss--whichis only fitting, of course, for a holiday in honor of the waning of thesun.
This is a superb book for adults to read to children, a way to teach them,quite painlessly, about customs and imagery related to Halloween fromancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Celtic Druidism, Mexico, and even acathedral in Paris. (One caveat, though: Bradbury unfortunately perpetuatesa couple of misconceptions about Samhain, or summer's end, the Halloween of ancient Celts and contemporary pagans.) This beautiful reprint edition hasthe original black-and-white illustrations and a new color painting on thedust jacket. --Fiona Webster
Product Description:
"A fast-moving, eerie...tale set on Halloween night. Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- The cover is really the best thing about the book
A cute kid's book and brief history of Halloween around the world(though I do wonder about the historical accuracy hmmm...). It was also weird that this was a male-only space the whole time. Easy to read and I'm sure any kid who loves Halloween would love this book. It just did nothing for me as an adult.
Rating: 
- Great Reading
This story has long since been a favorite for my children and myself.Want to know some of the history of Halloween, read this great book.
Rating: - A Halloween Classic
"Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked."
-- The Halloween Tree, p. 4
Why do we dress up on Halloween? How did the tradition of trick-or-treating begin? ... Read More
Rating: - A Fun & Entertaining Read
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q18Q4MML78DG
Rating: - One of my favorite books of all time
I came across this book in the 8th grade when I had to do a book report on something in the science-fiction genre. It was the cover art that caught my eye. The book was truly fantastic. Nobody writes like Ray Bradbury; his ability to command the written word is truly incredible and he exhibits this skill superbly in this book. Young and old can appreciate this tale, of a group of young boys soaring through times and cultures examining the truth behind Halloween. You can read this book over and over ... Read More
- The cover is really the best thing about the bookA cute kid's book and brief history of Halloween around the world(though I do wonder about the historical accuracy hmmm...). It was also weird that this was a male-only space the whole time. Easy to read and I'm sure any kid who loves Halloween would love this book. It just did nothing for me as an adult.
- Great ReadingThis story has long since been a favorite for my children and myself.Want to know some of the history of Halloween, read this great book.
- A Halloween Classic"Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked."
-- The Halloween Tree, p. 4
Why do we dress up on Halloween? How did the tradition of trick-or-treating begin? ... Read More
- A Fun & Entertaining ReadWatch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q18Q4MML78DG
- One of my favorite books of all timeI came across this book in the 8th grade when I had to do a book report on something in the science-fiction genre. It was the cover art that caught my eye. The book was truly fantastic. Nobody writes like Ray Bradbury; his ability to command the written word is truly incredible and he exhibits this skill superbly in this book. Young and old can appreciate this tale, of a group of young boys soaring through times and cultures examining the truth behind Halloween. You can read this book over and over ... Read More
