Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury was an incredible author with a great imagination. In the introduction to "Dandelion Wine" he describes how he wrote for many years and how that technique helped him to be such a prolific writer. This is also a book I have read many times and it never loses its ability to charm and bring back memories of ones own childhood.

DANDELION WINE is first and foremost the story of a 12 year old boy discovering that he is alive. I was lucky enough to read this gorgeous, perfect novel, wrapped in a library's dandelion yellow hardcover, the summer of my 12th year, in the small town of New Haven, Indiana, probably wearing my own pair of Red Ball Jets or Keds, lying in my living room as usual, curled up in a chair with the screen door open to let in the blustery summer wind and sun, with the lush green Indiana grass blowing in waves just outside.
I understood what Bradbury was saying at age 12, an incredible thing in itself, since the themes here are fairly grown-up. Essentially, this book is about a boy flooded with the sudden realization of his own "aliveness", and never has a child's experience of innocent living been so perfectly, passionately illustrated. Douglas Spaulding lying in the grass, or feeling the keen pleasure and pain of carrying heavy laden buckets of self-picked berries out of the woods while the handles crease the insides of his hands. Douglas Spaulding discovering the wonder of a Number Two pencil, and the joy of rising early in the morning to watch his town come to life with the sunrise. Douglas Spaulding discovering that nothing makes a boy fly weightless through his summer vacation better than slipping his feet into the cool, cloudwrapped heaven of a new pair of tennis shoes.
I found this book, at age 12 and several times since, to be an experience ranking with the most important books about human life that I have ever read. Bradbury sees so much, and conveys the experiences so clearly that one knows what Douglas and Ray know by the end. This is a book about passion and joy and being fully alive from moment to moment. It is a sonnet to and affirmation of childhood and innocence of such persuasive power that it has become a key volume of my core library. I don't expect everyone to have such a trascendent experience in the reading, and not everyone is fortunate enough to read this book at as perfect a moment as I did. But it is undeniable in its power and equal to the greatest work Ray Bradbury has produced, in my opinion. I was fortunate enough to meet him and thank him for it while at college. But this book has meant more to me than I could tell him.
Give this to a boy you care about, or read it to evoke, soothe and elevate the child in you. It is pure poetry, Bradbury at the height of his powers, written with genius, on the vital topic of the nature of life. I can only say Douglas Spaulding has never left me. You may find him equally provocative.

Fantasy master Ray Bradbury captured the essence of childhood in "Dandelion Wine," a classic that reads like new. If you've never read this book, do. If you have, do it again. It's magical storytelling.

Absolutely great non science fiction book from one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. Very timely and on point with all the we need to get the past back nostalgia movement going on these days.

"Dandelion Wine" is to Summer what Dickens' "Christmas Carol" is to Christmas. It is a celebration of small town summer life that makes you yearn to feel the cool grass under your bare feet on a hot summer day. I first read "Dandelion Wine" when I was 12 years old. I was captivated. At that tender age I couldn't see the literary sleight of hand that made the summer magic. Revisiting it now that I am 50 I can see the strings and mirrors and am still just as captivated. It's like watching a master musician. They make it look so easy and natural. "Dandelion Wine" isn't perfect. It gets a little morose and moody in spots. It has a little too much death and not enough birth; but Bradbury was young when he wrote it; and young writers often mistake gloom for profundity. That is its only flaw. And it's probably just as well. If it did not have a flaw it wouldn't be the deliciously human story that it is. Dandelion Wine is a classic that deserves its place among the timeless classics with which it rubs shoulders. Every 12 year old should read it; and then read it again when they are 50.

Although this story takes place in a time far before my childhood it certainly evokes the essence of my memories of Summer. Bradbury's prose perfectly captures summer from the perspective of a child. Given how perfectly the Halloween Tree captures my thoughts of Halloween I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

Dandelion Wine is not the typical Ray Bradbury novel and yet, in many ways, it is. Whimsical and charming with so much childhood dreams packed into its pages, you can't help but fall right into it. 12 year-old Doug Spaulding is the main character and we follow him through his fantastic world, smelling the wet grass, climbing through the trees, running hellbent through the ravine with a serial killer in tow. Dark in places, but lighter in most others, I use Dandelion Wine to cleanse myself after reading something gritty ala Clive Barker or Thomas Harris. One of my all-time favorites (many of which were written by none other than Ray Bradbury) Dandelion Wine shines.

Dig it!

This is a very different kind of book. It reminds me of the books that I had to read in Eng. Lit. classes in college. It is more of an interpretive read. I think it would be a good book for a book club.

Loved the view of summers past in small town Ameica from the perspective of a 12 year old. Brought back memories and reminds me of how "small" things can effect the younger ones in such huge ways. Also, the writing was quite poetic at times

What a delightful remembrance! A small town as seen through the eyes of a young boy. This was a time of simple joys and ordinary days of summer that bring to life the appreciation of family and friends. Many things will be familiar, such as catching fireflies in a jar, listening to the sounds of summer and of course, dandelion wine. Ray Bradbury has a special talent for story telling.