Speaking of June and summer, I am reminded of the novel Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. The stories featuring a 12-year-old boy and his family and friends take place during one summer in the 1920s in a small Illinois town. I read it so long ago I can only remember that the boy's grandmother made dandelion wine and that Mr. Bradbury evoked summer so very well I could almost see the fireflies glittering in the moist night air.
This is one of the novels I want to reread this summer. I am making a Summer Reading List for myself since I have no schoolmarms to make suggestions for me.
Summer is for children and I plan on experiencing the joy of the season through the eyes of a couple of the fictional characters I have forgotten about.
Dandelion Wine seems an excellent place to begin.
Dandelion Wine is one of my favorite books; there's so much to love -- the happiness machine, and William Forrester and Helen Loomis and their dish of lime-vanilla ice. What a great book to read for summer!
ReplyDeleteI am so looking forward to rereading this. Thanks for your comments, Lark.
DeleteBelle! Its a great story, however I must confess to being a big Bradbury fan! I urge everyone who enjoys Ray's writing to find his autobiography "The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury" It is one of the best auto-biographies I have read. His fun-loving, self-deprecating character inhabits each page. His time in Ireland (1950's) with John Huston who commissioned Ray to write the script for "Moby Dick" is so descriptive and obviously a difficult time in his life. His description of the bully Huston and his near break-down is revealing. In spite of that his time in Ireland resulted in a number of short stories one of which he placed Houston being the victim of a Banshee.....he admitted to wishful thinking!!
ReplyDeleteTullik, Bradbury's autobiography sounds wonderful. Thanks for the suggestion. I have read a couple of his books - 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' and 'The Martian Chronicles' - both of which I enjoyed. I am trying to find a used copy of 'Dandelion Wine' and I will look for the 'Chronicles' as well.
DeleteI'm enjoying catching up on your posts, especially this one. I read Dandelion Wine for the first time about two years ago, and have been suggesting it to whomever will hear me since, even blogging about it. It simply evokes summer and midwest. I finally found it in the science fiction section of the library, which surprised me, but, Bradbury is most known for that genre.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter, Jennifer, read Phantom Tollbooth so many times the cover came off. She loved it so. Enjoy your summer reading.
Hi Penny. 'The Phantom Tollbooth' is such a clever book. I was in awe at the wordplay and puns that Juster employed. Really quite brilliant. I am now on a search (locally) for a used copy of it and 'Dandelion Wine' for my collection.
DeleteI read Dandelion Wine in school, and I may still have a copy somewhere. I should hunt for it, because I think I'd like to reread it. I have liked everything I've read by Bradbury, and really should see what I have not read yet...like his autobiography! Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy. Hope you find your copy and can enjoy reading it this summer. I have looked in a couple of local used bookstores for a copy of 'DW' to no avail. I too would like to own it. And I am intrigued by Tullik's description of Bradbury's autobiography which I had no idea even existed. Another one for the TBR list!
Delete