The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree
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Book Summary Information

Author: Shel Silverstein
Brand: Harper Collins Publishers
Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1964
ISBN: 0060256656
Number of pages: 64
Publisher: Harper & Row

Book Reviews of The Giving Tree

Book Review: Many Layers to This Story, Just Like a Tree's Many Rings
Summary: 5 Stars

Stories are one of the oldest and most intense forms of human learning. The Giving Tree has all of the elements of the kind of mythical story that provides sustenance to all who tell and listen to the story throughout their lives. A person aged 93 can enjoy it as much as a 3 year old, yet in a totally different way.

The story begins like this:

"Once there was a tree . . .

and she loved a little boy."

At the most obvious level, then this is a story about the joys of love . . . and the pleasures of being loved. The experience is clearest when the boy is youngest.

"And every day the boy would come . . . ."

Whenever the boy came when he was little, that brought the tree happiness.

"And the tree was happy."

The tree shares many resources with the boy, and takes back companionship as her reward. This message is reinforced by the fact that the tree is always happy when the boy (now a man) returns less often) . . . except when he takes the tree's trunk.

As a literal object, the tree obviously also stands for nature's bounty . . . as long as we don't take too much, it will continue to provide for us. But calling the tree "she" also suggests that perhaps the tree stands for a metaphor for a mother or grandmother, either in the family or as Mother Nature.

The story is obviously written from the tree's perspective. All the scenes have the tree in it. So we are to learn from the tree's experiences.

The tree always gives the boy what he wants. But is it always good for the boy? It's hard to tell, but we have a clue that it may not be. The boy who wanted branches for a house to have a wife and family, later just wants a boat to leave. This suggests that something went wrong with his plan. But nature and your family will always take you in, subject to the resources they have remaining.

But what is the message for the little boy? He is happiest when with the tree while small. When older, he wants many things, but they don't seem to provide him with happiness that lasts. Although he gets all the material possessions the tree can give, it helps him less than the tree's companionship.

Clearly, the little boy is hardly a noble character except when pure in his devotion to the tree. If you are like me, you will have a negative reaction to the boy man taking the tree's trunk for a boat. That's just asking too much. But unconditional love provides it, as undefended nature cannot deny humans either.

At another level though, the balance is redressed by the aged man's physical decline.

"I am very tired."

"Sit down and rest."

"And the boy did."

Even as a stump, the tree can help the boy old man. The boy old man can no longer chew apples, nor build houses, nor make boats. They are at one again.

"And the tree was happy."

Perhaps one of the greatest messages of the tree is that there is such a thing as unconditional love. Children are often not sure about their parents in this regard. The parent who reads this story to a daughter or son will have gone a long way toward sending the message that he or she is loved . . . unconditionally.

The book has much to recommend it for beginning readers. Most of the words are short, repeated, and relate closely to the line drawings. Thus, most children can memorize long sequences and begin to decode words to match their memories. Before long, they can begin to recognize the words.

The Shel Silverstein line drawings have a unique charm to them, often cropping the tree and the boy in unusual ways . . . suggesting motion. My only regret is that there is no color used with the stories. I think that color would have deepened the impact, especially for young children.

After you have finished reading and enjoying the story, I suggest that you ask yourself what should be the limits of giving based on love, if any. Also, what is the responsibility of the recipient of unconditional love? Beyond that, what is each person's responsibility to nature?

Look for the circles within the circles.

Summary of The Giving Tree

'Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy.'

So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.


To say that this particular apple tree is a "giving tree" is an understatement. In Shel Silverstein's popular tale of few words and simple line drawings, a tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy. Making the boy happy makes the tree happy, but with time it becomes more challenging for the generous tree to meet his needs. When he asks for money, she suggests that he sell her apples. When he asks for a house, she offers her branches for lumber. When the boy is old, too old and sad to play in the tree, he asks the tree for a boat. She suggests that he cut her down to a stump so he can craft a boat out of her trunk. He unthinkingly does it. At this point in the story, the double-page spread shows a pathetic solitary stump, poignantly cut down to the heart the boy once carved into the tree as a child that said "M.E. + T." "And then the tree was happy... but not really." When there's nothing left of her, the boy returns again as an old man, needing a quiet place to sit and rest. The stump offers up her services, and he sits on it. "And the tree was happy." While the message of this book is unclear (Take and take and take? Give and give and give? Complete self-sacrifice is good? Complete self-sacrifice is infinitely sad?), Silverstein has perhaps deliberately left the book open to interpretation. (All ages) --Karin Snelson

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