The Halloween Tree

Infobox Book
name = The Halloween Tree
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Ray Bradbury
illustrator = Joseph Mugnaini
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Yearling (September 7, 1999)
release_date = 1972
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 160 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-375-80301-7
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Halloween Tree" is a 1972 fantasy novel by American author Ray Bradbury.

Plot summary

A group of eight boys set out to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, only to discover that a ninth friend, Pipkin, has been whisked away on a journey that could determine whether he lives or dies. Through the help of a mysterious character named Moundshroud, they pursue their friend across time and space through ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures, Celtic Druidism, Notre Dame Cathedral in Medieval Paris, and The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Along the way, they learn the origins of the holiday that they celebrate, and 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.

Background

The novel originated in 1967 as the screenplay for an unproduced collaboration with animator Chuck Jones. In 1992, Bradbury wrote and narrated a feature-length animated version of the novel for television, for which he won an Emmy Award. A longer "author's preferred text" of the novel, compiled and edited by Donn Albright, was published in 2005. This edition also included both the 1967 and 1992 screenplays. [cite book
first = Ray
last = Bradbury
title = The Halloween Tree
location = Colorado Springs, Col.
publisher = Gauntlet Press
year = 2005
pages =
id = ISBN 1-887368-80-9 ]

"The Halloween Tree" is illustrated by Joe Mugnaini, one of Bradbury's many collaborators over the years. Joe Mugnaini has illustrated many novels with Bradbury, and Bradbury also owns many examples of Mugnaini's artwork.

It is dedicated to Man'Ha Dombasle (1898–1999), a French writer and translator who was the maternal grandmother of the actress and singer Arielle Dombasle and the wife of Maurice Garreau-Dombasle, a French ambassador to Mexico.

References

External links

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