HallowREADS Review: The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury & Joseph Mugnaini
Random House
Source:
Purchased
The best thing about my current book buying ban is getting read books that have been on my shelves for years! I purchased this signed volume over 4 years ago! The Halloween tree is the story of eight childhood friends on one of their favorite nights of the year: Halloween! There happiness is dimmed only by the absence of the favorite of their group : Pipkin.
Tom Skelton leads the troop of boys to Pipkin’s house to see why he hasn't joined them only
to find Pipkin without a costume and looking very ill. Pipkin tells the boys to go have fun and that he will meet them at the edge of town at an abandoned house.
Yet when the boys reach the house they meet Mr. Moundshroud, who care takes the house and the magical tree in the backyard. When Pipkin races to join the boys he is swept up in a magical storm and the remaining boys take a journey across time to learn the history of Halloween and hopefully save their lost friend.
This story wasn’t what I expected at all! On one level it is the story of a band of friends who will do anything to help their friend and on a deeper level it educates the reader on mans relationship with The Sun, the changing seasons, Egyptian Mummification techniques and the mentality behind the Salem Witch trials.
As you can see from the cover of the book Mugnaini, illustrates this book brilliantly. The black and white illustrations really capture the atmosphere of the story and the different time periods the boys visit.
A wonderful combination of history and myth.
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