The Halloween Tree
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| Author | Ray Bradbury |
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| Illustrator | Joseph Mugnaini |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Yearling (September 7, 1999) |
| Released | 1972 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 160 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-375-80301-7 |
The Halloween Tree is a 1972 fantasy novel by Ray Bradbury.
The story is about a group of eight boys who 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.
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. A longer "author's preferred text" of the novel was published in 2005, which also included both the 1967 and 1992 screenplays.[1]
The Halloween Tree is illustrated by Joe Mugnaini, one of Bradbury's many collaboraters 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Bradbury, Ray (2005). The Halloween Tree. Colorado Springs, Col.: Gauntlet Press. ISBN 1-887368-80-9.
