Customer Reviews

The Halloween Tree

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4 star:		(6)
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This is the story of how seven boys go on a Halloween quest to save their eighth friend from what seems to be an early death. Along the way they view the origins of their costumes and what the analagous Halloween rituals would be for the historical period where the costume comes from. It is an interesting read, but the story reads more like a poem than a traditional story. The plot is kind of shoddy and arbitrary, but again, that suits the lyrical prose of the story (I especially liked the part with Samhain and the Romans). Bradbury paints vivid pictures in each different era as the boys chase their friend in an ever-more desperate battle to reach him and pull him back from the jaws of death. The boys, other than their leader Tom, are quite one-dimensional and don't contribute much to the story beyond their costumes. The bottom lines include what one is willing to sacrifice to save another and what Halloween has to say about our own fears and knowledge of life and death.

So while I enjoyed reading it, I can't say that I really loved it. I also don't think that this is a great book for younger readers, as the poetic writing is challenging enough that I think only very good pre-teen readers would be able to fully absorb it. That said, the imagery is quite poetic and Bradbury paints several vivid images that are worth reading and imagining. Thus I don't mind recommending it, so long as you realize that you're getting something more like a long poem than a short story.

Halloween is fast approaching. A recent conversation with a stranger in the lands beyond Avalon regarding the holiday and its origins have made me decide to review another old book that some may have overlooked. The book is called THE HALLOWEEN TREE and was written by Ray Bradbury.

This book tells the story of a group of small boys and a dangerous adventure they all share one Halloween with a spooky character named Clarence Clavicle Moundshroud. Much of the tale is taken up by the search for a missing friend. But while the plot is simple and originally aimed at younger readers the book has a second level.

The second level concerns Halloween and its history. But it also touches on similar celebrations in other cultures, such as the Mexican Day of the Dead, and the common origins for these festivals. While the story is entertaining it manages to keep you from realizing just how much you are learning when reading the book.

THE HALLOWEEN TREE was adapted for television at one point but I feel that production just doesn't hold a candle (or jack-o-lantern) to the book.

In one of his finest works, Ray Bradbury explores the origins of Halloween, the imaginative spirit of youth and the strength of friendship in his quick, breathlessly paced Halloween Tree. The story is simple: on Halloween night, eight trick or treaters set out with a dashingly grim Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud (who may or may not be the grim reaper himself) on a journey across time to learn the secrets of Halloween night, and more importantly to save the soul of their dear friend Pipkin, whom they saw snatched up in front of their eyes by a dark shadow of death and blustered away to who knows where. The boys learn about the strange origins of their favorite holiday, and at the great climax discover a courage and selfless love within themselves they never knew they possessed.
This book is at once a chilling supernatural tale, an interesting lesson in Halloween's beginnings, and a glorious exercise in elegant, soaring prose that is nearly poetry in its dark beauty. Moundshroud is a fascinating tour guide, and the boys are all eager listeners. With the exception of the skeleton boy Tom, none of the children are truly fleshed out characters, but that's perfectly fine for this story. Bradbury seems to want his readers to be Moundshroud's sole audience. Moundshroud leads us across a supernatural dreamscape paved with Bradbury's lush, descriptive words, and we should feel his glowing green eyes upon US. Bradbury knows this, and he delivers us a beautiful story, meant especially and solely for us, the readers. For anyone who loves Halloween, or appreciates a touch of magic in everyday life, this is a perfect book for both adults and children.
When asked whether their night was a trick or a treat, the boys answer 'both!' They are entirely right.

"Halloween Tree" recaptures the surreal spookiness of a child's Halloween with the knowledge of an adult. The result is a whirlwind fantasy spinechiller that children and adults alike will enjoy.

Eight young boys congregate to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night; the only one missing is Pipkin, the universal favorite (Bradbury devotes an entire chapter to singing Pip's praises). Pipkin does show up, but he acts strangely and isn't wearing a costume. When they show up at the House, a haunted edifice, they find the sinister, skeletal Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud and an enormous tree hung with jack-o-lanterns -- a Halloween tree. Pipkin appears nearby, and then is carried off into the darkness.

To save Pip, Moundshroud takes the boys on a strange trip through time and space, through history and across the world. He shows them the death-related rituals that spawned Halloween: Egypt's mummies, the Celtic Samhain and its lord of the dead, the Christian All Hallows Eve, the Mexican El Dia De Muerte, and others. Through time and across the world, they chase Pipkin and try to save him -- but what can they do against death?

Ray Bradbury's deft touch keeps this particular story from becoming too leaden and heavy-handed. Kids will be fascinated by the origins of Halloween, a holiday now relegated to candy and costumes; the descriptions of different cultures and what helped shape the Halloween we know today are handled excellently. He also does not become judgemental about any of the cultures, such as ancient Romans, Celts, and Christians, but merely presents how civilizations rise and fall, and how their traditions linger on.

None of the boys are really developed too intricately, and remain simply young brave boys who are willing to go through the fire for their friend. Mr. Moundshroud is alternately sinister or kindly: considering who he turns out to be, the sinisterness is not surprising, but he also sympathizes with the boys and allays their fears. The writing is excellent, almost dreamlike, with the sort of delightful overkill that characterizes really good spinechillers. The descriptions of the House and the Halloween tree are the best examples of this.

"Halloween Tree" succeeds in being a good fantasy, a good spinechiller, a good educational book, and an excellent story about friendship all in one. A wonderful read, and not just for Halloween either.

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In The Halloween Tree, some pre-teen neighbourhood boys gather to trick or treat and instead find themselves whisked off on a time-travelling romp through Halloween history. The book invokes the mythical mid-twentieth century world where there were no parents, or girls either, to get in the way of your fun. Despite a certain charm and some wonderful phrasing by Bradbury, the dialogue,with its unwavering barrage of excitement,and endless run-on sentences was exhausting to read. In the end, this book completely fell flat for me.

Recommended for: I don't actually recommend it, but if you like andocentric worlds where boys are named Ralph and Wally and say "shucks!" and "gosh," well you might like this book better than I did.

This book is about eight boys and one shadowy character who travel back in time - 4,000 years to be precise to save their friend's spirit and learn the origins of Halloween and discover the role that the fear of death has played in shaping civilization.

The Halloween Tree itself, with its many branches laden with jack-o'-lanterns, serves as a metaphor for the historical confluence of these traditions - trick-or-treating, the symbols (witches,monsters,etc.) and the Day of the Dead. And I think of the pumpkins as the spirits of people who died on Halloween.

Overall I find this story spine tingling yet educational and fun to read. My mom and I would read it together every October (before Halloween, my favourite holiday) and it has become one of my favourite books. I highly recommend it!

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 wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness. The town was full of trees. And dry grass and dead flowers now that autumn was here. And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across. And the town was full of...

Boys.

And it was the afternoon of Halloween.

And all the houses shut against a cool wind.

And the town was full of cold sunlight.

But suddenly, the day was gone.

Night came out from under each tree and spread."

This scene sets the tone for the entire book. THE HALLOWEEN TREE is as classic a Halloween story as A CHRISTMAS CAROL is for Christmas. It is about a group of boys, all friends, ages 11-12, who dress up for their annual night of Halloween mischief and go trick or treating. The boys find themselves at a particularly spooky mansion in a dark ravine, with a Marley-the-ghost door knocker and a gigantic tree covered with jack-o-lanterns. As the jack-o-lanterns light up one by one, the boys realize they are in the presence of a Halloween Tree, and that something very special is about to happen.

The resident of the house, the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, takes the boys on a fantastic journey through traditions of Halloween past. This story is part history lesson, but the history is provided in such a compelling way that your average reader won't even realize he or she is learning something.

Perhaps the only downside to this story is that it is so dominantly geared toward a male audience. All of the major characters are male. Though, being female myself, I could get lost in the spookiness of the narrative.

Bradbury uses his trademark short sentences which are short on exposition but long on crafting a mood. The story is spooky without ever being scary, and is sure to delight kids of all ages.

Reviewed by: Marie Robinson

Although this book was very interesting, I was hoping that there will be more tension, excitement, and suspense while I was reading. This story is about a boy who was captured and taken back in time. His friends were waiting for him in a haunted house, but when they discovered about why Pipkin was vanished, they decide to go with a guy named Moundshroud to save Pipkin and to also learn why and how Halloween started. So as the boys traveled back in time, they kept losing Pipkin and had to travel into another era of time to find him again. There were many events that had happened in this book, but none of them have a lot of suspense in which I was hoping it has. I think this book should've had a better title or cover to fit the story.

Some of Ray Bradbury's stories display a fascination with the misunderstood macabre, an interpretation of darkness from the eyes of a child. This book is one of those contrasts in dark and light, hope amongst doom. The spindly and spooky Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud whisks these young boys away on a strange and lovely Halloween adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat.