The Halloween Tree

by Ray Bradbury

"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 their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist

• ISBN10: 0671037684
• ISBN13: 9780671037680
• Publish Date: 3 January 2000 (first published 13 August 1972)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 September 2003
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Imprint: Earthlight
• Edition: New edition
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

Ooo, another atmospheric, completely October-y read! I dug this so much! Ray Bradbury really knows how to write kids (boys) and their need for adventure, loyalty and friendships! These characters were so brave, even in the most frightening of times, and even though I guessed the point of it all pretty early on, that knowing didn't stop me from getting a tad emotional.

I just loved this!

[nsperry92]

This book has that classic Halloween feel. This story is spooky, fun, and imaginative. Bronson Pinchot did a fantastic job narrating as well.

[brokentune]

An eerie tale of Halloween in which a group of kids are guided (or is it lured?) by the sinister Mr. Moundshroud on a journey through time.

I'm not sure what was creepier, the descriptions of Mr. Moundshroud or the fact that the children followed him with little hesitation. However, once the journey started it was a pleasure to see where Bradbury would take us.