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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Somewhere inside Ray Bradbury's head is a place where it's always golden autumn, in 1920s midwest America, and every night is Halloween. He has a gift for evoking childhood thrills where joy and terror come heart-stoppingly close. Here eight kids dressed as horrors for Halloween go hunting darkness and find it:
... one hundred million tons of night all crammed in that huge dark pit, that dank cellar, that deliciously frightening ravine.Awaiting them is the comic-sinister trickster Moundshroud, who whirls the boys on a tour through time that shows them the roots of Halloween--cavemen trembling from the dark, Egyptians whose lives revolved around death, Druids appeasing their terrible gods, and so on to the grim carnival of Mexico's Day of the Dead. It's full of poetic flashes, as when "all the old beasts, all the old tales, all the old nightmares, all the unused demons-put- by" are summoned from every corner of Europe to become gargoyles in the newly-built Notre Dame Cathedral.
Bradbury's theme of celebrating life by celebrating death is underlined by fleeting appearances of the gang's missing ninth boy, the one we soon realise is gravely ill and may not last the night. But Moundshroud, who is more than he seems, offers a deal ... The Halloween Tree is written as though for children, with lashings of exclamation marks--but, just as in a fairground, adults too can let their hair down and enjoy the wild roller- coaster ride. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, eight trick-or-treaters gather at the haunted house by the edge of town, ready for adventure. But when Something whisks their friend Pip away, only one man, the sinister Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, can help the boys find him. "If you want to know what Halloween is, or if you simply want an eerie adventure, take this mysteryhistory trip. You couldn't ask for better than master fantasizer Ray Bradbury," raves The Boston Globe.
Originally published in 1972, this handsome hardcover reissue celebrates its 35th anniversary. It's the perfect gift for fans of Harry Potter and Philip Pullman.
Originally published in 1972, this handsome hardcover reissue celebrates its 35th anniversary. It's the perfect gift for fans of Harry Potter and Philip Pullman.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I remember getting this from the library about fifteen years ago, at the age of 10. And then reading it again and again and again, unwilling to leave the frightening yet safe world of childhood evoked by the author (the same world as described in "Something wicked this way comes"). As soon as I saw it had been republished I ordered the book - and as I did so all the images of the two boys and their vividly drawn experiences came flooding back. If you are a Bradbury fan, and haven't read this one yet, then buy it. If you aren't a Bradbury fan, and want a taster - then you can't go far wrong with this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ray Bradbury conjures dark delights from the depths of history in this classic book. Have you ever wondered about the truth behind Halloween? Then join eight friends lead by Tom Skelton, along with the mysterious Mr Moundshroud, on their quest to save young Joe Pipkin - the greatest boy who ever lived. This is another magical work from the master storyteller enhanced by the gorgeous, gothic renderings of Joseph Mugnaini. The book explores the origins of All Hallow's Eve, as well as the kind of friendship that only exists in childhood. There's a lot of heart in Bradbury's vision of the scariest night of the year, and the sacrifice that the boys make at the end is perhaps the most beautiful in literature. If you enjoy it, and you will, then check out the animated film adaptation for which Bradbury wrote the screenplay.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"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? Why are witches, skeletons and ghosts associated with Halloween? The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury takes the reader on an incredible journey through the history of Halloween.
It's Halloween night, and for 13-year-old Tom Skelton and his friends, it's the most exciting evening of the year. But when they meet up to go trick-or-treating together, they realize that one of their friends is missing - Joe Pipkin, "the greatest boy who ever lived." When they arrive at Pipkin's house, Pip emerges, his face deathly pale. He says that he's not feeling well but he'll catch up with his friends at a house at the edge of town.
The boys arrive at the house to find an incredible sight: a giant tree filled with jack-o-lanterns, the Halloween Tree. There they meet the mysterious Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, the sinister yet genial owner of the home. When he questions the boys about the significance of their costumes, the boys, dressed as a Skeleton, Mummy, Witch, Ghost, Gargoyle, etc. all realize that they don't know the stories behind their Halloween costumes. Mr. Moundshroud offers to help them discover the history of All Hallows' Eve, but the boys know they have to wait for Pip. When Pip appears, his friends call to him, but as Pip approaches, he stumbles and vanishes into the darkness. Mr. Moundshroud then takes the boys on an amazing journey through time and space, not only to learn the history of Halloween, but also to save their dear friend, Pipkin.
Mr. Moundshroud takes them to ancient Egypt, England during the time of the Druids, Notre Dame in the Middle Ages, and finally to the cemeteries of Mexico for the Day of the Dead. At each magical stop, they learn something new about how the traditions of Halloween were shaped by different cultures across the centuries, culminating in the holiday we know today.
Bradbury spins an imaginative and haunting tale of friendship and discovery in this remarkable book. While The Halloween Tree was first published in 1972, my first exposure to the story came from the excellent Cartoon Network television special that aired in the 1990's. If the special is ever made available on DVD, I'll be first in line to purchase it. Until then, the book will be a treasured yearly tradition for me.
-- The Halloween Tree, p. 4
Why do we dress up on Halloween? How did the tradition of trick-or-treating begin? Why are witches, skeletons and ghosts associated with Halloween? The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury takes the reader on an incredible journey through the history of Halloween.
It's Halloween night, and for 13-year-old Tom Skelton and his friends, it's the most exciting evening of the year. But when they meet up to go trick-or-treating together, they realize that one of their friends is missing - Joe Pipkin, "the greatest boy who ever lived." When they arrive at Pipkin's house, Pip emerges, his face deathly pale. He says that he's not feeling well but he'll catch up with his friends at a house at the edge of town.
The boys arrive at the house to find an incredible sight: a giant tree filled with jack-o-lanterns, the Halloween Tree. There they meet the mysterious Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, the sinister yet genial owner of the home. When he questions the boys about the significance of their costumes, the boys, dressed as a Skeleton, Mummy, Witch, Ghost, Gargoyle, etc. all realize that they don't know the stories behind their Halloween costumes. Mr. Moundshroud offers to help them discover the history of All Hallows' Eve, but the boys know they have to wait for Pip. When Pip appears, his friends call to him, but as Pip approaches, he stumbles and vanishes into the darkness. Mr. Moundshroud then takes the boys on an amazing journey through time and space, not only to learn the history of Halloween, but also to save their dear friend, Pipkin.
Mr. Moundshroud takes them to ancient Egypt, England during the time of the Druids, Notre Dame in the Middle Ages, and finally to the cemeteries of Mexico for the Day of the Dead. At each magical stop, they learn something new about how the traditions of Halloween were shaped by different cultures across the centuries, culminating in the holiday we know today.
Bradbury spins an imaginative and haunting tale of friendship and discovery in this remarkable book. While The Halloween Tree was first published in 1972, my first exposure to the story came from the excellent Cartoon Network television special that aired in the 1990's. If the special is ever made available on DVD, I'll be first in line to purchase it. Until then, the book will be a treasured yearly tradition for me.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A thing of beauty
This is one of the most magical books you're ever likely to come across in a lifetime of reading. Wonderful beyond words, it will stay with you long after you've read it. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Avid reader
The Magic Tree
I first bought this book as a corgi paperback in 1975 & found the story magic and enchanting. Ray Bradbury has a rare quality as a master story teller, and this is one of his... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by Alan Berry
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Opening this book is like opening a present. Originally published in 1972, publisher Alfred A. Knopf has printed a new hardcover edition. Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2007 by TeensReadToo
This book is a Halloween classic!
The Halloween Tree is an exceptional book filled the mystery of autumn and the intrigue of childhood. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 1998
A book to read every year.
On October 31 of every year since I've been 8, I have picked up the Halloween Tree and read it cover to cover. Read more
Published on 22 July 1998
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