Dandelion Wine is one of America's greatest books. I wore out several copies reading, re-reading and lending to others. May Ray live forever.

I'll second that.

I was also overjoyed to find another Greentown story in One for the Road. Though it didn't feature Doug, it was another poetic meditation on boys living it up in that eternal mythical summer in a small town.

Traveling back 22+yrs ago to this long-reserved Forum Post, thoughts of having so enjoyed the privilege of teaching Dandelion Wine to secondary students throughout my classroom career now nearly overwhelm me on this quiet early autumn afternoon.

So many pages of the story were read aloud and, I vividly recall, the teenagers were always enthralled. In my retirement, I have presented a wide-range of literary seminars for adults and students at a nearby university. They too have been captured by the narrations and imagery Mr. Bradbury so artistically painted upon each page of his stories!!

If you are a new or occasional visitor to the RB Forums, and have yet to read Dandelion Wine, take a trip back in time to 1928 ~ and maybe to similar events you experienced personally during your youthful days. Remember how as summer flew by, joys - fears - struggles - losses - loves all had to be understood because you were growing up, and August was making its way closer to the cool eves of Autumn!

Below is a collection of topics which captures the themes of the final two chapters of Dandelion Wine. It may motivate you to open to page 1 of DW and read it for the first time, or the review possibly will bring a smile to your face as you recall what a timeless Work of Art Mr. Bradbury created:

RE:
Douglas's love of life has returned after Mr. Jonas's gift. The world is again a magical place for him, and the thought of his own death, somewhere far in the future, can no longer change that. However, Aunt Rose threatens the magic by questioning Grandma's cooking. Aunt Rose represents the possibility that taking away their spontaneity may ruin some things in life. Knowing how Grandma made the food will not make it taste any better, and Douglas knows that the only way he can bring back Grandma's gift is to somehow give her back her spontaneous knowledge of cooking. He does this, and what he has really given her is a little of the magic of life, the same thing that Mr. Jonas gave to him.
The novel suggests that to live happily in the world without worrying about things can be wonderful. Just as mowing the lawn can produce philosophers, cooking without exact ingredients can produce delicious meals. These are just smaller examples of what Douglas learned all summer—living itself is the magic. There is no need to question life or worry about death when the beauty of life is all around you.
Summer has ended, but what Douglas learned will never be forgotten. He learned what it is to be alive and know that you are alive. Tom is not as old as Douglas and has not learned all of the same lessons, but he is all right, and we know that someday these same things will come to him. The end of the book is infused with a single sentiment—love of life.
To be a twelve year old boy in the summer is wonderful, but to be that boy's grandfather is also wonderful. Every day there is something spectacular to be seen, felt, heard, smelled, or tasted. For it is not simply summer that is magical but life itself. As Douglas falls asleep he knows this, for what he really learned from Mr. Jonas was that the magic of life never ends.
All of the changes that seem to occur over the course of Douglas's summer belie the greater truth that life continues on much the same as always. As a kid, he wants things never to end, and so he is sad when John Huff leaves, or when Colonel Freeleigh dies, but what he learns is that even through all of the changes some things remain. Just as a sip of dandelion wine brings back a bit of summer, so in our memories do we bring back bits of people who are gone.
As things leave, other things come to take their places. Summer may be gone, but autumn brings many things, some old, some new. Life cycles much like the seasons, and Douglas is content with his life. Maybe some day in the distant future he will be, like Colonel Freeleigh, a sip of dandelion wine, bringing memories of a remote summer to those who were never there.

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