The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
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Book Reviews of The Giving Tree
Book Review: A great book for all ages
Summary: 5 Stars
Summary: Over time, a little boy grows from childhood into old age interacting with a tree whom he loves. When the boy is young, it is easy for the tree to make him happy. She provides shade to rest, apples to eat, a trunk to climb, etc. The tree gives unconditionally to the boy, making him happy. The tree provides the boy with happiness, resulting in her own happiness. As the boy grows older, it becomes more complicated for the tree to bring him joy. The boy takes everything from the tree until she is only a stump. He sells all of her apples for money, he takes her branches to build a house, and he uses her trunk to craft a boat. The tree is more than willing to keep giving to the boy, but she is uncertain whether or not she is truly happy. Finally, at the end of the book, the boy returns one last time as an old man. Since the boy has taken everything from the tree, all she can offer him is a quiet place to sit and rest. The old man is content with this, and so he sits down on the tree's stump.
Evaluation: This is a wonderful story with many varying viewpoints and themes. The simplicity of this book, leaves the moral of the story up to multiple interpretations. Because of this, the story may be too complicated for the age level that this book is targeted at. Children may be able to enjoy the book, however they may not fully understand, or be able to take away a lesson from the story.
It is clear that the simplicity of the illustrations contribute to telling the story just as much as the words do. The straightforward black and white drawings reinforce the simplicity of this book. The spacing around the plain line drawings help to show the uncertainty of the relationship between the boy and the tree throughout the story.
The fact that the story does not have a happy ending, allows it to be more realistic. This may be beneficial to children because it is opposite of the normal "happily ever after" ending. This story gives children a more realistic view of the world and how it works. Not everything results in happiness.
Book Review: What is wrong with some of these reviewers?
Summary: 5 Stars
The Giving Tree is an allegory either about parenthood or about God. Either way, it is a beautiful story. A little disturbing, you say? Naturally. Such is life. Life's hard out there, people! Get a helmet.
And if I have to read one more review talking about how this is an allegory about environmentalism, I will scream. The apple tree is not representative of nature! And last time I checked, Mother Nature was not a particularly good mom. Do we use up resources like mad? Yes. Do we need to stop and think things through and change? Yes. But what the earth gives, the earth also takes away. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes...need I continue? The plague? AIDS? Is any of this ringing a bell?
The Giving Tree is an allegory for parenthood (and/or possibly God). Period. There is no environmental message.
And if you really think the point of having children is to be thanked for all the sacrifices you have made, don't become a parent. Being a parent--and giving out of love--is exactly like what the tree experiences. Is the boy selfish? Yes, but so are children and so are adults.
From Wikipedia:
As Timothy Jackson, a professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University put it:
" Is this a sad tale? Well, it is sad in the same way that life is sad. We are all needy, and, if we are lucky and any good, we grow old using others and getting used up. Tears fall in our lives like leaves from a tree. Our finitude is not something to be regretted or despised, however; it is what makes giving (and receiving) possible. The more you blame the boy, the more you have to fault human existence. The more you blame the tree, the more you have to fault the very idea of parenting. Should the tree's giving be contingent on the boy's gratitude? If it were, if fathers and mothers waited on reciprocity before caring for their young, then we would all be doomed. "
Amen, brother. My thoughts exactly.
Book Review: one of the greatest books ever
Summary: 5 Stars
this has to be on my all time favourites list. i tear up every time i read it. its a beautiful story about unconditional love, i'd say between a mother and a child. its great to see stories like this in today's society where what you 'really need to worry about' is people cheating you, someone ripping you off, not getting your fair share, etc.. society's so focused on the individual and selfishness is so celebrated that stories like this are refreshing to read and much needed in my opinion. to be honest i was surprised to see the negative reviews, but i guess that has to happen with widely read books, there's always a critic, and this is a good thing. but i would like to say in response that, yes the boy is taking from the tree and the tree never asks for anything, just offers everything, this is true. but, the reader takes on the perspective of the tree, the giver, and they experience this giving as something joyous, as an expression of love. when you love someone don't you want to do something to make them happy? and when someone gives you something you want or need, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes not, isn't that a great feeling? to know that they care, sometimes enough to go out of their way, just for you? the boy never demands anything from the tree, the tree offers to make the boy happy, like a parent (or even a grandparent, anyone who cares really). parents do everything for their children, sometimes this goes unnoticed, but they continue to do it because they love their children with all that they are. you can definitely pick out abuse if you look for it, but only if you look for it, not if you take the story as it is. it is a story about loving no matter what, and it kind of makes me sad that some people take that as abuse, especially when the boy did nothing offensive or abusive. he just took what was offered.
it's a beautiful story, and i think everyone should read it at least once in their lives.
Book Review: Beautiful story of selfless love.
Summary: 5 Stars
I find it amazing how some people can read a beautiful story of how a tree selflessly helps a human throughout its life and they somehow read into it (what appeared to me) a battle of the sexes. Of course it is all about perspective, but I have loved this book for 30+ years for the fact that the tree was there for someone in need. I did not see the boy as the hero or main character in this story. It is the tree that is the main character and heroine. The fact that the boy was self-centered and took the life of the tree was not what touched my heart as a young boy. It was the fantasy of a living being in nature, a tree, being so kind and "giving".
There are two things that stick out in my mind about this story: 1) The tree offered its services, the boy took what was offered. 2) The selfless simple kindness and compassion for someone in need. IT WAS A TREE, A.M. White!! Just a caring, loving, selfless tree that gave what it could to someone it loved. Forget that the boy was self-centered and try to see the magic in a beautiful, fictional story of a tree's love for a little boy.
To anyone scared to read this story to their kids for fear of the negative review stating it as "rotten" and the comment as "frightening", try to see it in the tree's perspective. Selfless love. The boy's life was enriched by the tree without him ever giving thanks back to the tree, and yes, that could be deemed as bad. Maybe therein lies a moral which was unseen by A.M. White and perhaps was added by the author as a lesson. But my early life was enriched by this beautiful story of unconditional love, and I thank Shel Silverstein for writing it and for teaching me two things at a very early age: 1)The power of fantasy and selfless giving in a sometimes very bad world. And 2) Tree stumps make great seats! No, I mean trees make great friends!
Please give this magical book a read!
Book Review: Proceed with Caution into This Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
I noticed that there were negative reviews for this book and, even though I've always loved it, I could immediately guess what the basis for objection was: the abuse of the tree. I'm sure most of you know that this is about a tree who loves a boy and supports him throughout his life, giving him parts of herself as he needs them: her leaves, her limbs, and ultimately, her trunk. The boy, in turn, doesn't seem to realize how sad the tree is when he leaves her again. He has high hopes in life and he is bent on making them happen with whatever she gives him.
I don't see this at all as a book promoting abuse, but it could be taken the wrong way. In some ways, it's a lot like the original tale of "The Little Mermaid": the heroine loves a boy and gives him everything inspite of his blindness to her needs. While that particular fairy-tale is definitely not for children, I don't think this book could harm them...provided that a responsible adult is there to discuss it with them. It definitely has a happier ending than the mermaid tale: rather than the tree pining away and dying of a broken heart, the boy returns when he's too old to do much of anything and finally appreciates the tree's greatest gift: simply being there and supporting him. Throughout the book, the boy's aspiration is to live and the tree's is to give. It is not until the end of the book, when they both realize that their spans are almost over, that they are finally united for good.
I enjoyed this book as a child and I intend to read it to my own children, but I do agree with the points that the negative reviewers made about abusing love. Do read this with your children and be ready to address certain issues. I personally will continue to keep this book on my Amazon list of recommended reading for children, but I'll add a word of caution for parents.