The Halloween Tree

On Halloween night, eight boys in costume meet to go trick-or-treating with their friend Pipkin. Pipkin never arrives. In his place stands a towering, shadowy figure named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.

Moundshroud tells the boys that Pipkin has been carried off on a dangerous journey. They can go after him, but only if they first learn where Halloween came from. The price of the rescue is a lesson in history.

The pursuit carries the boys across space and through the centuries. Their stops include Egyptian tombs, the gargoyles on Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Mexican cemeteries during the Day of the Dead. Along the way they meet the old fears of death and ghosts that gave rise to the holiday.

First published in 1972 with illustrations by Joseph Mugnaini, this children's fantasy is written for readers of about 8 to 12. The pace is a pursuit from one place to the next, and the question that drives it is whether the boys can reach Pipkin before the night runs out.