When I first saw the title Halloween Tree I thought the cover was not matching what I was thinking. What I was thinking about was Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name. But then I wondered if it was possible to adapt it to a picture book format? Especially with such a cute cover? Yes, it is possible, but the real question is should it be adapted. Well, thankfully (I guess) it was not that Halloween Tree but its own unique story.
Susan Montanari’s Halloween Tree is a little tree on a Christmas tree farm. But not your typical tree. They are not happy, do not like lights and are very anti-Christmas. In fact, they are so not into Christmas, their needles do not grow right and the limbs are mostly bare. Then one day, the tree farm leaves. And there stands our lone tree. The community is built up around it. The tree grows and the children of the neighborhood use the tree for whatever fun and games children do. One day the grownups do what grownups do and want to ruin fun and chop down the tree! What happens next is not only about how a tree learns to get into the Holiday Spirit, but how one not so typical tree brings a community together.
Martinez’s illustrations are quirky, silly, fun. They are colorful and neither overly realistic nor cartoon but someplace in the middle of things. The version of this online read is a board book which I hope is going to be larger than the usual smaller sizes, and hopefully a lapsized board book, as the story and images will need that space to branch out and show all the wonder of this tree. However, you do need to wait until July 2026 for your copy of the board book, but the hardcover version is available to read now. And since it is both a Halloween and Christmas story there is no wrong time to start reading!
