Ray Bradbury Taught Generations of Readers How to Dream

Bradbury was the perfect author for dreamy kids, kids who can spend hours finding the figures in clouds, or who get lost in reveries about desert islands or space colonies on parched planets. The Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes all have solid plots and characters, but the best parts are pure reverie—what it’s like to while away twilight on a front porch swing, or the feeling of almost uncontained excitement when a carnival pulls up on the edge of town. It was as though Bradbury was our secret ally, the first grown-up we ever ran into who broke with the party line and sided with us. Reading a Bradbury story, you heard this voice whispering, your parents and teachers will tell you that you’re wasting your time with all this daydreaming, but I’m going to tell you they’re wrong—time spent indulging your imagination is anything but time wasted. That was his message, and we took it to heart.

read article by Malcolm Jones
Ray Bradbury, Dead at 91, Taught Generations of Readers How to Dream - The Daily Beast