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The Halloween Tree

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 4,796 ratings · 386 reviews

"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 th...more

Paperback, 145 pages

Published September 7th 1999 by Yearling (first published 1972)

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Lists with This Book

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Bo Hampton

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Best Halloween Books

1st out of 236 books — 203 voters

Best of Ray Bradbury

8th out of 23 books — 143 voters

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Oct 28, 2012 Alex Telander rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2007, books-read-in-2008, books-read-in-2009, books-read-in-2010, books-read-in-2011, books-read-in-2012

THE HALLOWEEN TREE BY RAY BRADBURY: I read this book every October because it’s the perfect Halloween book. It’s taken me a couple of readings, but I now finally realize that The Halloween Tree is the equivalent for Halloween what A Christmas Carol is for Christmas: an enchanting journey into the history of Halloween where one leans much and is changed by it.

A group of eight boys are on their way out to trick or treat on Halloween, all in different costumes – skeleton, mummy, gargoyle, etc. – an...more THE HALLOWEEN TREE BY RAY BRADBURY: I read this book every October because it’s the perfect Halloween book. It’s taken me a couple of readings, but I now finally realize that The Halloween Tree is the equivalent for Halloween what A Christmas Carol is for Christmas: an enchanting journey into the history of Halloween where one leans much and is changed by it.

A group of eight boys are on their way out to trick or treat on Halloween, all in different costumes – skeleton, mummy, gargoyle, etc. – and head over to the final friend’s house, Pipkin. Pipkin is sick, doesn’t look well at all, but is essentially the leader of the group and has never missed a Halloween, so he tells them to go on ahead to a specific house and he will catch up with them.

The house turns out to be the quintessential Halloween mansion, with many rooms and black windows. Beside the mansion they find a great and ancient oak with many branches and hanging from those branches are many carved pumpkins, swinging in the breeze. This is the Halloween tree, and as the boys watch, each of the pumpkins light up. At the door they ask for trick or treat, and the man on the other side tells them not treat, but trick. Terrifyingly, he appears from a pile of leaves. He is tall. He is skeletal. He is Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.

After the boys get over the initial terror, they are invited on a journey by Mr. Moundshroud. They see Pipkin being taken into the past, weakened by his sickness, and it is up to Moundshroud and the boys to rescue Pipkin from time. And so the boys begin their journey, forming the tail of a giant kite controlled by Moundshroud and they pass back through time and visit the Halloweens of history: Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, medieval Britain, Notre Dame, and El Dia de Los Muertos.

It is an incredible story where one learns the history of Halloween seen through the eyes of many different cultures, told in the unique style of Ray Bradbury. Afterwards you will feel as if you’ve actually experienced many different Halloweens and be all the more ready to experience your own on October 31st.

For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.(less)

8 likes · like · see review

Nov 03, 2007 James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this limited edition version of bradbury's 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 children of all ages." so, when the first knopf edition was published in 1972, there were a ton of cuts, largely to bradbury's wonderful descriptive passages.

also included are a ton of supplemental materials, including...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Marie Robinson for TeensReadToo.com

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 "special."

Inside, I was not disappointed. Bradbury swept me away with his opening scene:

"It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wil...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 18, 2011 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book

Listened 10/11/11 - 10/14/11
3 Stars - Recommended for readers familiar with audiobooks
2 CD's

Ray Bradbury and I have a strange author/reader relationship. Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite novels of all time, where he forecasted a dark and dangerous future where books were banned and owning one could cost you your life. I found myself on the fence with The Martian Chronicles, where we colonize Mars and find ourselves face to face with Martians who look just like us. A fan of the film version o...more

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Aug 20, 2007 Luisa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy lovers, Harry Potter fans

Shelves: scififantasy

I read this book on a rainy school day in Saint Genevieve's H.S. library. I devoured this book!!! A bunch of boys get together and have to make a deal with Mr. Dark to save their friend's life as he lies dying....sacrifice the last year of their lives. So wonderfully expressed, as only Papa Ray can, and so imaginative in all the settings the boys travel to on Halloween night, including a tomb in Egypt. Great stuff!!

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 09, 2012 Kruti rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, beautiful-prose, reviewed

3 spine-tingling stars!!

Although The Halloween Tree is a perfect read for this holiday, I was still left slightly disappointed. I picked up this book on the hopes that it would frighten the living daylights out of me or at the very least have me shaking like a leaf. Sadly, that wasn’t the case here hence the 3 star rating. To be fair, there was a time when the hair on my arms did stand on end but I blame the cold draft in my house for that. *shifts eyes*

This is a perfect book for children and ge...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2011 Kindle-aholic rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-favorites

This might have been the first book I ever read where I felt a deep personal connection - a feeling that someone else somewhere had been dealt the same problems I had. A sense of camaraderie, all from the fictional characters in a book.

The theme of kids dealing with, battling with, the impending death of a friend, a fellow child, was a very personal one for me.

I remember my dad giving me the book, wanting me to read it. He said he thought I would like it. I think he knew I needed it. There are m...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2008 Austin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Flashback: Fifth grade.

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 later, I was surprised to find out it wasn't as long as I'd remembered. One thing that didn't change was my love for the characters and the way Bradbury points out the possibilities during that one smoky, damp and dark nigh...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 03, 2011 Amanda Skinner rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The Halloween Tree" was my favorite halloween movie when I was little. I watched my taped off the TV version faithfully every year, until tragically it was taped over with a D-Day memorial. I was overjoyed to find out, years later, that the cartoon movie I had loved so much (which I can't bring myself to spend upwards of $50 plus shipping and handling to own again) was in fact based on the novel by Ray Bradbury!

It is a fantastic novel for anyone who has ever loved All Hallows Eve, and all of th...more

1 like · like · see review

May 30, 2011 Marvin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autographed, fantasy

I know a lot of people who really love this children's book by Ray Bradbury. However, I'm not one of them. Like, yes. Love? not really. It seems a bit forced and a little rushed. On the other hand, there is all of that wonderfully flowery writing from the American master of fantasy. So I'll hedge and give this one three and a half stars.

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Caly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: death, fantasy, favorites, ghosties, ickles, modern, sorcery, timey-wimey

It is no secret that I adore Hallowe'en. It is also no secret that I like fantasy and books that are heavy on the Hallowe'en. It should come as no surprise, then, that as a child I used to watch The Hallowe'en Tree on television every year, and that after I became old enough to read it, I read it every October.

And, given the fact that my father is a Trekkie, it should shock no one that I hear it in Leonard Nimoy's voice in my head.

That said, I am well aware that I am very much wearing Super Nos...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Halloween Tree actually ended up being very different from my expectations. I had some vague idea that it would be like Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, probably because my brain conflated the similar names. In actuality Bradbury uses the plot of The Halloween Tree - 8 boys go on a journey Halloween night to save their friend Pipkin from shadowy death - to tell the history of Halloween traditions to readers. The boys see mummies in ancient Egypt, skeletons in Mexico, gargoyles at Notre Dame...more

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May 08, 2012 07emilyl rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a really good book for me to read. I love Ray Bradbury's style of writing and enjoy the things he writes about. I love Halloween, and it was fun for me to read about how it all started and what it was like in other countries and time periods.
This book is about 8 boys who get ready to have fun during their favorite holiday: Halloween. They go over to see their other friend, Pip, and find him sick and not ready for their Trick-or-Treating night. He tells his friends to go over to the per...more This was a really good book for me to read. I love Ray Bradbury's style of writing and enjoy the things he writes about. I love Halloween, and it was fun for me to read about how it all started and what it was like in other countries and time periods.
This book is about 8 boys who get ready to have fun during their favorite holiday: Halloween. They go over to see their other friend, Pip, and find him sick and not ready for their Trick-or-Treating night. He tells his friends to go over to the perfect house he found that they all think is haunted. They go over there to find a scary man named Moundshroud. Pip soon shows up and is swept away by Death. They all, along with Moundshroud, go through history to different parts of the world to try to save Pip and find out how Halloween started.
It was really fund for me to find out, along with those boys, how Halloween started, and to learn new facts about the world that I never knew. It was an interesting story, and it all flowed well. It was one of the first books that I have read in a long time that I really enjoyed reading. It also got really intense towards the end, and I walked away from reading the book feeling like I had both learned something and enjoyed the book at the same time, and most of the time that is really hard to do.
Tom was my favorite character. He was kind of like the main character, and leader of the group. He was always so set on saving his friend even though sometimes it felt like they weren’t going to make it. He was so brave and always tried to make the others feel like they were going to make it, even if he didn’t believe it himself.
Ray Bradbury describes a lot of things in this book, and it makes you feel almost as if you are with those boys and that Pip is just as much your best friend as he is theirs. You feel all the tension, fear, and happiness that the boys in the book feel. I really enjoyed the whole book all of the way through, and didn’t feel as if there were any parts that were really boring. It was a great book, and I really liked it.
(less)

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Nov 04, 2011 Beth Dolgner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I read this book every October to get myself in the Halloween mood. The book is written for tween boys, but it's still everything I want in a Bradbury novel: lyrical writing, a world where the supernatural blends easily with the natural, and fascinating characters.

The story follows eight boys who get an unusual treat on Halloween night: they are escorted throughout time and the world to see how Halloween is celebrated elsewhere. From the funeral processions of ancient Egypt, where “every day wa...more

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Nov 05, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The more I read Ray Bradbury, the more I like. His language is so much fun, I felt like I was reading one big poem when I read this book.

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 death. Ray Bradbury has a way of capturing the aura of previous generations that makes me feel as if I was there. I felt like I was there on this Halloween night that he describes, even though it's a world I've n...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Josiah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Halloween Tree, written by an author many would consider to be the most prominent name in twentieth century science fiction, is a highly eccentric and totally unexpected look at the divergent histories behind the Halloween holiday as it was in America of the 1970s, and how all of the different cultural ways of observing the holiday down through the millennia have really all been outward manifestations of man's fear of death, squeezed into the shape of sundry rituals and rites that allow peo...more The Halloween Tree, written by an author many would consider to be the most prominent name in twentieth century science fiction, is a highly eccentric and totally unexpected look at the divergent histories behind the Halloween holiday as it was in America of the 1970s, and how all of the different cultural ways of observing the holiday down through the millennia have really all been outward manifestations of man's fear of death, squeezed into the shape of sundry rituals and rites that allow people the opportunity to cope with the fear of their own eventual deaths in a rational and healthy manner.

This book is very strange, and doesn't at all lend itself to a normal synopsis, but there are several positive attributes that rise to the surface when one reads it. Ray Bradbury has a quirky, exceptionally imaginative descriptive style like none I've ever encountered, diving into descriptions of people and objects that cast a whole new light on what's happening in the story. His description of Pipkin's hair, for example, as "a great hedgehog bristle of bright brown-blond daggers sticking in all directions", stuck out in my memory well after I'd read past that point in the book.

The Halloween Tree is an informative fable about the roots of Halloween, but more important than that aspect is the story of a group of kids who would do anything to save their common friend, even if to do so means unflinchingly taking the scissors to the thread of their own mortality. When push comes to shove, how many of us would lay down our lives for a best friend?

One of the best things about this book, in my opinion, is the illustrations added by Joseph Mugnaini. Rarely does one see such expressive drawings in black and white, filled with creative nuance and excellent insight into the direction the story is going at any specific moment. The artwork definitely deserves praise for making this book more accessible and giving vigor to Ray Bradbury's unusual literary descriptions.

I'd be interested in reading some of Ray Bradbury's more famous works to measure how they compare with The Halloween Tree. I want to see how his writing style changes in the telling of a longer story, and how his classic science fiction novels differ from this offbeat but intriguing seasonal tome. (less)

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Oct 31, 2012 Drew Graham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eight boys gather one Halloween night to revel in the excitement they've been looking forward to all year. But things just aren't the same without Pipkin, the ultimate boy and leader of their gang, who, feeling unwell, tells them to go ahead without him and he'll catch up. They head to an incredibly spooky house while trick-or-treating, and are there introduced to Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who takes them on a fantastic adventure to not only discover the true story and history of Halloween,...more Eight boys gather one Halloween night to revel in the excitement they've been looking forward to all year. But things just aren't the same without Pipkin, the ultimate boy and leader of their gang, who, feeling unwell, tells them to go ahead without him and he'll catch up. They head to an incredibly spooky house while trick-or-treating, and are there introduced to Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who takes them on a fantastic adventure to not only discover the true story and history of Halloween, but also to find and rescue Pipkin, who has been captured by malevolent powers unknown.

I've been meaning to read this for a while, ever since I discovered the commemorative Halloween Tree in Frontierland at Disneyland, and it seemed like a great way to round out my October 2012 reading. Ray Bradbury is an excellent writer for sure, and this story is an eerie love song to Halloween, with swirling creatures and flying tweens and a whirlwind of history and nightmarishly fun figureheads of the holiday throughout the ages. I didn't think it was a masterpiece or anything -- the writing was sometimes vague and abstract, which I just didn't love stylistically -- but there was a lot of atmosphere and tone and fun throughout. It seemed like the story wasn't completely thoroughly developed, but that wasn't really the purpose of the book, it was a series of events with a little bit of plot thrown in. The boys were several, but distinct enough, and I liked how each of their costumes figured into part of the history side of the story. Moundshroud is a great host and emcee (and seriously, what an incredible name), and I never quite guessed what was really going on until the big reveal at the end, which gave me a little shiver.

I'm glad I finally had the chance to read this spooky and fun ode to Halloween throughout history. Under the guidance of mysterious and charismatic Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, Tom Skelton and his gang of pals took me on a journey to learn not only what Halloween is all about, but also on a rescue mission to save their buddy Pipkin. It's a bit ambiguous and seems to get caught up in its artistry at times, but it was a quick and amusing seasonal read.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Juliette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really, this book deserves a 5 star rating for the content, but I took a star away for the confusion of characters and the seeming need to end the story quickly (will note at end of review).

This is a must read for Halloween lovers and children who love Halloween. I may still start it this year for my six year old if he's interested. Eight children go out to a haunted house to meet their friend Pipkin who will catch up later, and they end up on a journey learning about historical reasons for the...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Shawn Thrasher rated it 3 of 5 stars

With fealty paid towards Dickens' A Christmas Carol (it practically begins a Marley knocker),this "Halloween carol" has shades of long poetry; Bradbury word paints various types of Halloweens from the past through the eyes of these Every Boys. The Halloween Tree itself is the pinnacle, a keen, bright, sharp image of a million jack o lanterns and one spooky old tree. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud (one of the greatest names in literature) is the Ghost of Halloweens Past, Present and Future all rol...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Clacie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-book, halloween, kids-young-readers

I don't think I could tell you what this book is about to save my life. This is a critique of the audio production, so I can't say if I'd have liked the book itself or not. When I listen to audio books I prefer a solid narrator who can deliver a stellar performance (i.e. Davina Porter/Outlander, Jim Dale/Harry Potter, Susan Bennett/You Suck, Rob Inglis/LOTR etc...). The Halloween Tree was a production with a full cast, music, sounds & all the bells & whistles. Unfortunately for me, that'...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Aileen Buchman-Combes rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Halloween Tree has to be, by far, one of the greatest books written with a Halloween theme I've yet to read. Ray Bradbury's way with words is magical. His descriptions set a wonderfully chilly mood, even if his "facts" aren't exactly a hundred percent accurate. This book won't really educate but it does make for a good seasonal read.

I will admit to finding one slight hiccup that bugged me after finishing the book, and it is pretty easy to miss. Before the eight boys take their trip through t...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Bhoswald rated it 3 of 5 stars

A group of kids meet up to go trick or treating on Halloween night when they realize that one of their group is missing. They decide to go to the boys' house only to find that he, Pipkin, looks deathly ill but insists that he is alright and will meet up with them later at a haunted house. The boys head to the house where they meet Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin heads to meet them he is taken away by something unseen, leading Moundshroud to take the remaining boys on a journey through the history of...more

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Oct 28, 2009 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eight boys go out on Halloween night, but they are missing their friend Pipkin. Not contented with just getting candy, they decide to go to a real haunted house. There they meet a strange, skeletal man called Mr. Moundshroud underneath the Halloween Tree. He tells the boys that they know nothing of the true meaning of Halloween, and he would like to teach them. Mr. Moundshroud also informs them that Death has "borrowed" their friend Pipkin and they must travel to the Undiscovered Country to save...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Mark Oppenlander rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A fascinating children's book by Bradbury, working with his occasional collaborator, illustrator Joseph Mugnaini. The book tells the story of eight young boys who are swept away, in costume, on Halloween night by a mysterious stranger named Mr. Moundshroud. Moundshroud takes the children back through the ages to learn the history of the customs and rituals that have, in various diluted forms, been handed down to them as the holiday of Halloween.

This probably would have been more fun to read as a...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Batgrl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghost-and-gothicish-stories, favorites-i-do-reread

This should be read every October, and the style really works well with being read aloud. Though I believe I'm basing that on my remembrance of the animated film of The Halloween Tree, I think it's probably true.

A few quotes:

P. 4 "...Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallow's Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes o

...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Rayna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

I feel guilty giving, "The Halloween Tree," by Ray Bradbury, OF ALL PEOPLE, only two stars. However, if I am being honest I cannot seem to rate this short story any better. "The Halloween Tree," started out as a magical adventure shared between eight boys on Halloween night. Unfortunately, the anticipation of this adventure, set on what is described as, "the spookiest of all nights," was more satisfying than the actual events themselves.
If I were just rating this book on prose alone, I would no...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Carlotta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Did I ever mention that I love children books? I do. I would not define this a complete child book, but neither would I give it an adult status. After Bradbury died, I decided to read something of his that was not Farenheit 451. This book attracted my attention. I think this book is best read with your children.

It is a very nice Halloween story, it combines, a teaspoon of history, a spoon of adventure and a cup of long lost dreams. Follow a group of young boys, as they travel through time, to l...more

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Oct 28, 2009 Katsumi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ghosts-creepy-monsters

The chilling beauty of this book is summoned up in the fierce, wonder of the phrases, where Bradbury twines the bizarre with the beautiful, the impossible with the improbable. It is gorgeously beautiful prose, from the very beginning to the very end, perfectly complemented by the illustrations.

A few examples: 'coloured green of forests jogged through, brown from old harvest trudges,'

'lurkings of black-ink stream and creek, lingerings of autumns that rolled over in fire and bronze'

'And during th...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, illustrated

I meant to read this a few days ago but forgot. Oh well. It would make a great annual Hallowe'en story to read though, short enough to read in an hour or so.

Bradbury takes us on a journey through the history of Halloween with 8 small boys and the town recluse. His magical, poetic and dreamlike prose is out in force, creating an atmospheric, haunting, creepy, exciting and ultimately quite moving tale. The imagery is fantastic and is complemented by the black and white illustrations scattered thr...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Detective rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: halloween

Delicious!! Once Ray's writing style 'hooked' me, that was it!! I love his descriptive choices- of how he'll reiterate an action- the scene- character(s) and THIS book is now, one of those "read it just before Halloween" traditions I plan to keep!! From the amazing Halloween Tree, to the fiercely most awesome KITE imaginable, to the incredible mastery of words for everything from 'one step at a time' to ALL the creatures called to 'ornament' the facade of the Notre Dame Cathedral... *here* he we...more

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About Ray Bradbury

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He bec...more American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He became a full-time writer in 1943, and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

His reputation as a writer of courage and vision was established with the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, which describes the first attempts of Earth people to conquer and colonize Mars, and the unintended consequences. Next came The Illustrated Man and then, in 1953, Fahrenheit 451, which many consider to be Bradbury's masterpiece, a scathing indictment of censorship set in a future world where the written word is forbidden. In an attempt to salvage their history and culture, a group of rebels memorize entire works of literature and philosophy as their books are burned by the totalitarian state. Other works include The October Country, Dandelion Wine, A Medicine for Melancholy, Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Sing the Body Electric!, Quicker Than the Eye, and Driving Blind. In all, Bradbury has published more than thirty books, close to 600 short stories, and numerous poems, essays, and plays. His short stories have appeared in more than 1,000 school curriculum "recommended reading" anthologies.

Ray Bradbury's work has been included in four Best American Short Story collections. He has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In November 2000, the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters was conferred upon Mr. Bradbury at the 2000 National Book Awards Ceremony in New York City.

Ray Bradbury has never confined his vision to the purely literary. He has been nominated for an Academy Award (for his animated film Icarus Montgolfier Wright), and has won an Emmy Award (for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree). He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France.

Married since 1947, Mr. Bradbury and his wife Maggie lived in Los Angeles with their numerous cats. Together, they raised four daughters and had eight grandchildren. Sadly, Maggie passed away in November of 2003.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday in August 2000, Bradbury said, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."(less)

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Trivia About The Halloween Tree

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Quotes from The Halloween Tree

“Suddenly the day was gone,
night came out from under each tree and spread.” — 25 people liked it

“The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
Tom Skelton shivered. 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.” — 18 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/761381.The_Halloween_Tree?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320398641l/761381.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/761381.The_Halloween_Tree?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury[/url]

The Halloween Tree

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