false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178130680m/761381.jpg 761381 21 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 <I>The Halloween Tree</I>. 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. <p> Bradbury's stories about children are always attended by dread--of change, adulthood, death. <I>The Halloween Tree</I>, 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. <p> 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 <i>Samhain</i>, 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. <I>--Fiona Webster</I> 1868553 book 1972 The Halloween Tree total:1170|5:363|4:384|3:321|2:82|1:20| 1170 4498 1607 114 5 4 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 08:40:02 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 10:45:13 -0700 2007 halloween tree that was printed in 2004 is absolutely the version worth reading, entirely for the inclusion of his first submitted typescript.

see, knopf was interested in a straight-up juvenile book. bradbury wanted to write "a book for ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Oct 26 16:35:52 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 16:43:12 -0700 2008
In the library of my elementary school, as a fifth grader, this book made its first mark on my life. I found it, and the cover image (different than the one featured here) really grabbed me.

When I finally found my way back to this one, almost five years lat...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 07:52:42 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 08:11:03 -0800 2009
This book is kind of a convergence of a couple of themes that I have noticed from previous Ray Bradbury short stories: nostalgia and people's views on de...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 11:23:24 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 13:52:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 16:30:18 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 13:03:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1980 Mon Aug 20 18:46:49 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 18:47:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Oct 06 21:27:06 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 15:01:09 -0700 2009 ...more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 19:15:05 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 08 20:19:37 -0800 2007 2 0 false false Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 22:07:30 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 22:12:30 -0800 2008 1 I wanted to like this, but I could n...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 23 18:20:10 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 13:38:49 -0700 2008 "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 k...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat May 24 15:33:54 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 15:33:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon May 05 02:40:14 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 02:40:27 -0700 2008
Opening this book is like opening a present. Originally published in 1972, publisher Alfred A. Knopf has printed a new hardcover edition. The dust-jacket is beautifully illustrated, the book is of an unusual size. Everything about it says "...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 10:13:04 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 28 23:18:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 12 19:18:33 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 02 08:09:13 -0800 2008 4
Ray Bradbury's tale is the H...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 17:46:26 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 20:27:11 -0700 2008
Through the eyes of 8 boys, we go on a magical journey with the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud and experience 8 different ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 08:22:13 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 17:19:01 -0800 2009 1
I am just not so sure about his historical facts. I think that this book would be a springbored to use when trying to research the history of Halloween but I would not believe everythin...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Wed Aug 26 21:28:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 21:32:53 -0700 2009 A simple story of a bunch of kids looking for th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 22 21:50:15 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 21:51:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 23 14:02:22 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 14:04:42 -0800 2008 A pesar de ser para niños y por lo tanto ligera, uno llega a sentir aprecio por los personajes... pipkin sobre...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 18:25:22 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 18:25:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=761381