"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.

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.

I fell in love with this book the first time it was read to me, and my feelings have never changed. As I child I knew it was a sad book, but I didn't know why. Now that I am an adult, I can understand the cost of unconditional love and I know why the tree was sad. The fact that this book inspires so much debate is a testament to the power of Shel Silverstein's writing. There is a lesson in this book and a powerful message. For me, the key point is that in the end, the love the tree had for the boy was vindicated by his return- older, wiser, and more appreciative. My mother bought me this book when I was young because she thought it had a poignant lesson to teach. My mother tells me that the tree is every mother, and that the sadness felt by the tree is the sadness every mother feels when her child grows up and grows apart. She says every mother's hope is that her child will return someday, wanting nothing more than to to sit together in silence and to be happy. Anyone who has ever loved someone enough to let them go will understand the painful choice highlighted in The Giving Tree.

I love this book and I give it to special people in my life to celebrate our friendship. I higly recommend this book to adult and child alike.

380 of 425 found the following review helpful:


A CONTROVERSIAL Classic to promote family discussion  Nov 28, 2005 By L'lee
There are two extreme ways to interpret this book, as shown by the multiple ratings of 1 and 5.

The first: This is a beautiful and sad story of unconditional love between a tree and a boy, in which the tree is generous and gives of itself to help the boy whenever he is in trouble. The metaphor in this case is that of a mother and a child, or God and a human.

The second: This is a story of a very selfish boy and a tree who loves him. Whenever he is in trouble, he returns to the tree who gives him another part of her self without ever setting limits, even though it makes her sad (and physically damages her) to do so. In this case, you can compare the story to a metaphor of an abusive, codependent relationship.

I can understand both views of this story, but the fact that the second interpretation is just as valid as the first makes me hesitate to recommend this book. Personally, I would NOT buy this book as a gift, or for my own children. If I had this book, I would wait to read it to my children until they reach the recommended 10 years old (or at least 8), and then I would discuss the book and its concepts (selfishness, limit setting/saying NO) with them. "What did you think of this book?" "Do you think that the tree/the boy did the right thing?" "What would you have done differently if you were the tree/the boy?" "If you were the tree, would you have said 'NO' to the boy at any point?"

A story that may be complementary to this one and more appropriate for younger audiences is "Ladies First", also by Shel Silverstein (found in "A Light in the Attic" or "Free to Be, You and Me"), which is about a girl who always gets to be first to do everything, but in the end that is not to her advantage. At least in that book the message is clear that selfishness is not OK.

If you prefer to avoid this type of discussion, you might be better off sticking to one of the MANY childrens' books that are much less controversial and intended only for entertainment.

28 of 29 found the following review helpful:


And the tree was happy, but not really: A 35 year old reflects...  Dec 26, 2005 By anjanette seewer-reynolds "anjie reynolds"
I've been a Shel Silverstein admirer since I first received Where the Sidewalk Ends as a first grader back in 1976. The way Silverstein combines stark sketches with punchy language and ideas could woo almost any child.

As with most of his work, what makes it funny or appealing is his ability to write about humans at their most vulnerable or disillusioned states (poems like "The Land of Happy," "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout," "Jumping Rope" come to mind), and kids love that raw edge to him. The Giving Tree, however, is surprisingly subversive. It looks purely sweet at first, seeming to be about a love between a tree and a boy, and the beauty of doing anything for someone you love.

But it is TRAGIC. The tree ends up with nothing (she's a stump for him to eventually sit on), and the boy ends up an unhappy and lonely old man who has exploited (devestated) something he once loved.

Now, thirty years after my first reading of it, I'm not sure where I stand. This book was meaningful to me as a child--there was complexity in it, in giving and taking and paying consequences (and the pictures evoked great emotion). On the other hand, an obvious and simple message it could send is that it is good to give (and to take) at all cost.

In the end, I don't think the book should be avoided, by any means, because of its seemingly "selfless" message, but I do think it should be discussed (even in simple terms with the smallest child) as an eye-opening rendering of the danger of giving too much and losing yourself in the process.

34 of 41 found the following review helpful:


What can be read into it  Nov 23, 2006 By Newton Ooi
Few books are as simple to read and open to interpretation as this children's classic by one of the greats of 20th century children's literature. The story is simple, a boy takes different things from a tree his entire life, the tree gives without question, and at the end, both are together crippled with only each other for company. Out of such a simple story can be drawn many lessons that are appropriate not just for children, but for human beings of all ages. First, total self-sacrifice only leads to happiness as long as those you give to are happy. If the last condition does not hold, then the giver can never truly be happy. Second, always taking will never make you happy, for you will always find something more that you need or want to have. Third, and probably most controversial, this book provides a fitting commentary to the behavior of mankind towards nature. Written in the 1960s at the ascendancy of the modern environmental movement in the USA, the story is a perfect corollary of how man takes from nature for various uses his entire life, without ever thinking of the long term consequences for both him and nature. The tree of course represents nature, as few objects are such a symbol of nature within the American psyche.

Overall, a great book for people of all ages. It is one of those few books that provides morals and lessons for all readers, and each time you reread it, you learn something different.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:


almost perfect  Dec 02, 2007 By A. Syth "Nanny Adrienne"
This book gets 4 stars, and the only reason it doesn't get 5 is because I HATE the cover. I was anticipating the gift page to be on the inside of the book, but it is actually the cover. The gift tag is overwhelming compared to the picture I grew up with, and I'm contimplating removing the protective cover all together when I give it as a gift, because it is SOOOO ugly.

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