The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

In the almost 10 years that I have been here only Heidi & Dixie Shimshak have offered a book review. Last night Joel Mikesell presented me with this book review so I asked his permission to publish it on this blog.

If you haven't read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, get it now and
read it before Halloween! In The Halloween Tree, Bradbury has written an
artist's history of Halloween, lightly wrapped in a story.

The wrapping: A group of boys are taken on a journey through history to
discover the true meaning of Halloween. They travel in time and space to
the ancient world, Notre Dame, and, of course, to Mexico for Bradbury's
beloved Day of the Dead.

The sweet inside: I call The Halloween Tree an artist's history
because‑‑while Bradbury's accounts of Halloween's historical roots are
accurate enough‑‑they are more implied than laid out for the reader. It is
the spirit of Halloween in these various cultures that is important to
Bradbury, not dusty footnotes. (Unless it be mummy dust, of course.) When
the boys travel to Notre Dame, it is not to be given a lecture on Gothic
architecture and decorative arts, but to feel the gargoyles come alive,
doing what they were meant to do in a world where darkness has palpable
power.

This is a children's book. It is quite short and so a fast read, even
without Bradbury's extraordinary tone and pacing that tumbles the reader
along like a fallen leaf pursued by an autumn wind.

Apparently there is a new, longer edition out that includes some material
from Bradbury's collaboration with Chuck Jones on the animated version of
the story (Don't care, didn't like the cartoon much.), and a copy of
Bradbury's first submitted manuscript of the book with descriptions that
were cut in the first printed edition (Very exciting, this!).
ISBN13: 9780375803017

How long has it been since you've read a book in one sitting, excited the
whole way through? Give yourself a treat.

‑ Joel Mikesell