Anticipated percolation

On his way to Texas, via Portland with a two hour layover in Oakland, California, Keith realized he should have packed sufficient reading material. After all, what is normally a six hour (give or take) jaunt, is going to be a ‘nine + hour’ odyssey, what with the layover and time difference, of course. So, on his way to Portland (he drove the four hours to the airport) Keith stopped at Barnes and Noble (jealous) and, being a SciFi buff, he immediately gravitated toward Ray Bradbury.

So, even though Halloween has long since exhausted its welcome, Keith purchased The Halloween Tree  for his in-flight reading enjoyment. I know, right? Not the kind of book you’d expect Keith to read or for that matter not the kind of book you’d expect from the master of Fahrenheit 451‎, The Illustrated Man‎, The Martian chronicles‎, and Something Wicked This Way Comes‎, just to name a very few. But there you have it.

First published in 1972, The Halloween Tree is an adventure that begins at the home of Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.











These haunting tombstone black-and-white illustrations are by Joe Mugnaini.

The book is set entirely on one Halloween night and the adventures of eight boys who, through the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, are taken on a journey through time and space.











At least now, Keith will not have to be at loose ends flipping through the Skymall catalog in desperation.

Enjoy your flight, love, and your spooky Halloween journey. I will be hitching a ride with the mysterious Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud when you return!