The Halloween Tree (Paperback)

~ (Author), Joseph Mugnaini (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

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," for example. Or Ray Bradbury's classic The Halloween Tree. Eight boys set out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by a tall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind to autumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways of celebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. Bradbury's lyrical prose whooshes along with the pell-mell rhythms of children running at night, screaming and laughing, and the reader is carried along by its sheer exuberance.

Bradbury's stories about children are always attended by dread--of change, adulthood, death. The Halloween Tree, while sweeter than his adult literature, is also touched at moments by the cold specter of loss--which is only fitting, of course, for a holiday in honor of the waning of the sun.

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 from ancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Celtic Druidism, Mexico, and even a cathedral in Paris. (One caveat, though: Bradbury unfortunately perpetuates a couple of misconceptions about Samhain, or summer's end, the Halloween of ancient Celts and contemporary pagans.) This beautiful reprint edition has the original black-and-white illustrations and a new color painting on the dust jacket. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"If you want to know what Halloween is, or if you simply want an eerie adventure, take this mystery-history trip. You couldn't have a better guide than Ray Bradbury."--Boston Globe


From the Trade Paperback edition. -- Review

Kids in advanced middle through high school, as well as many an adult, will appreciate this reprint of a Bradbury classic which presents a haunting, unforgettable night of tricker-treating. Journey through space and time to find a missing friend in a tale which satisfyingly spooky. It's hard to find older editions, making this exceptionally important. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375803017
• ISBN-13: 978-0375803017
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,144 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting as Mr. Moundshroud, October 27, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Halloween Tree" recaptures the surreal spookiness of a child's Halloween with the knowledge of an adult. One of Ray Bradbury's relatively few books for children is a wildly imaginative ride, with a strong subtext about friendship and death itself.

Eight young boys congregate to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night; the only one missing is Pipkin, the universal favorite (Bradbury devotes an entire chapter to singing Pip's praises). Pipkin does show up, but he acts strangely and isn't wearing a costume. When they show up at the House, a haunted edifice, they find the sinister, skeletal Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud and an enormous tree hung with jack-o-lanterns -- a Halloween tree. Pipkin appears nearby, and then is carried off into the darkness.

To save Pip, Moundshroud takes the boys on a strange trip through time and space, through history and across the world. He shows them the death-related rituals that spawned Halloween: Egypt's mummies, the Celtic Samhain and its lord of the dead, the Christian All Hallows Eve, the Mexican El Dia De Muerte, and others. Through time and across the world, they chase Pipkin and try to save him -- but what can they do against death?

Halloween books are generally the realm of the under-eight crowd. At a certain point in life, it's just hard to recapture that magic -- it's like a darker version of Christmas. But Ray Bradbury, who has been captivating people with his dark-edged fantasy for years, presents a uniquely gothic, uplifting story in this book.

Ray Bradbury's deft touch keeps this particular story from becoming too leaden and heavy-handed. Kids will be fascinated by the origins of Halloween, a holiday now relegated to candy and costumes; the descriptions of different cultures and what helped shape the Halloween we know today are handled excellently. He also does not become judgemental about any of the cultures, such as ancient Romans, Celts, and Christians, but merely presents how civilizations rise and fall, and how their traditions linger on.

None of the boys are really developed too intricately, and remain simply young brave boys who are willing to go through the fire for their friend. Mr. Moundshroud is alternately sinister or kindly: considering who he turns out to be, the sinisterness is not surprising, but he also sympathizes with the boys and allays their fears. The writing is excellent, almost dreamlike, with the sort of delightful overkill that characterizes really good spinechillers. The descriptions of the House and the Halloween tree are the best examples of this.

"Halloween Tree" succeeds in being a good fantasy, a good spinechiller, a good glimpse back in history, and an excellent story about friendship all in one. A wonderful read, and not just for Halloween either.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a kid's book, March 9, 1999

By	Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Halloween Tree (Hardcover)

You might want to dismiss this as one of Bradbury's lesser works because of the simplistic plot and writing style but that would be a mistake. What we have here is one of his most important books and one of his best. Taking cues from Dickens, Bradbury writes a timeless tale of Halloween that isn't carried along by dovetailing plottwists or dense knotted prose but simply a quest to save someone and the boundless exuburance of children. I literally finished this while waiting for a class to start and when I had a few pages left and class started I sat there and finished the book. Once you start reading it you can't stop, the momentum of is one of constant motion. And it's not a kids book, sure the themes of innocence are there but also are the more serious topics of death and darkness, as seen through the filters of a child. For all it's length it's a perfect book for the most part and one that deserves to be read every year together with a bunch of people. On Halloween of course

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Gorgeous!!!!, October 17, 1999

By	Michael ([e-mail]) (Nanuet,NY, USA) - See all my reviews

I first tried to read this book when I was around the suggested reading age (about 12 years old). Now that I'm 18 I finally tuly appreciated this masterpiece. Never before have I seen the true essence of Halloween captured on paper so perfectly. Life and death, night and day, Autumn and Summer, courage and friendship, Halloween and all it's components are presented to the reader in fantastic imagery that will transport you back to those Halloween nights that we miss so much. The nights when you could taste the magic in the air. Bradbury is an artist and these 145 pages are his canvas. If you are a true fan of Halloween or want to become one this book is for you.