Reviews for The Halloween Tree

The average rating for The Halloween Tree based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-10-12 00:00:00 Raave J. They thought of All Hallows' Night and the billion ghosts awandering the lonely lanes in cold winds and strange smokes. The Halloween Tree ~~ Ray Bradbury I have a tradition of reading Charles Dickens every December. It may be a short story or a full length novel, but December is meant for Dickens. After having read Bradbury's The Halloween Tree, I have decided that I will now read Ray Bradbury every October. October is meant for Bradbury . There is so much to love about this book ~~ The Halloween Tree is the story of eight friends who, on Halloween, try to find their missing ring leader, Pipkin. The search leads the friends to an old, dark, Gothic, mansion, haunted of course, with a tree covered in lit jack-o-lanterns, the Halloween tree. It is here we meet Moundshroud who offers to help them find Pipkin, but they need to learn the truth about Halloween first. From here, we are given a tour of Halloween and Halloween-like celebrations from around the world, from Ancient Egypt to modern-day Mexico. Bradbury is a masterful storyteller. What is amazing here is Bradbury takes the concept of death and the ending of one's own life from a personal to a worldly discussion. More than that, we learn what it is like to live and grow and even mor importantly, about the fluidity of life ~~ not an easy task to be sure. There is so much more I could say here, but I don't want to spoil this for others. This is a book to read and reread many times. I consider The Halloween Tree a classic and a wonderful surprise for me.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-10-26 00:00:00 Jonathan Lymer When their friend Pipkin is snatched away, his eight friends, with the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, go looking for him, crossing time and space and learning all about Halloween. Apart from some of his short stories, I've never ready any Bradbury. Since we're on the cusp of Halloween, I gave this a shot. This is a cute, fun story. Mr. Moundshroud teaches the boys about Halloween across the ages while they look for their missing friend Pipkin. There aren't a lot of childrens' books that reference druids, mummies, witches, gargoyles, and the day of the dead. It brought back memories of Halloweens past for me. The prose is poetic and flows like water from a hose. Some of it has an almost Doctor Seussian flair. I'm not surprised there's an animated version. The book screams to be a cartoon. Bradbury's influence on later authors can be felt in this one. I notice some phrasing that Stephen King has echoed but the writing shouted Neil Gaiman at me. Coraline, The Graveyard Book, practically all of Gaiman's prose owes a debt to Ray Bradbury. Hell, The Sandman probably also has some Bradbury in his family tree. I probably missed the window for perfect enjoyment of this book by decades. Even so, I enjoyed it quite a bit. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Now I really want to track down the animated version. Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Moundshroud!