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Submitted by Chris W
We always wanted to have our own tree. A couple of us had to settle with an old tree with a tire swing in our grandparent’s backyard. We always cried when the boy chopped the tree down and we always thought the tree was being rather generous when it offered him a seat at the end.
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Hands down the best book ever!
Although I do like his dirty poetry
I got a copy of this for my graduation from my teacher (except it was in latin). Life lessons to be learned in that book for sure
Uh, like, “female subservience and subjugation by males is a wonderful thing?”
actually the symbolism here is of a mother and a sun in youth the boy loves her and is always with her, in his teenage years all he wants is money, young adults he wants a house she gives him one, middle aged he wants to get away and finally when he’s old and tired he sits with his mother realizing he wasted so much time and being so selfish.
Actually, this is an allegory for Christ & God’s love. He gave everything He had, and still does and most people still don’t get it.
i agree God gave us his most important gift and many dont thank him for it likt the boy takes from the tree without a thank you.
Is God a She then? anyway,my oldest son is 24 loved this book as a child and and treats me quite well.I’m not sure id is because or in spite of this book. Perspective is everything..
Hey, maybe this book about a tree who gives everything it can to a human who starts out selfish but finally appreciates everything the tree has done for him is…
…about a tree who gives everything it can to a human who starts out selfish but finally appreciates everything the tree has done for him.
<:P
GAH! I hated this book. (I liked Silverstien’s other stuff though.)
yeah, this book was NOT a good book.
The tree gives everything it has, and the boy-man never gave anything real back.
What the heck kind of moral is that? It tells kids they can ask for the world, and get the world, without having to reciprocate at all!
I agree! When I was a kid, teachers and librarians and camp counselors would read it to us as if it were supposed to be some wonderful, touching thing, and I was always HORRIFIED about the fate of the poor tree. I wanted the Lorax to come up and smack that kid a good one.
The Lorax ruled! I HATED the (co-dependent) Giving Tree. I once went to a therapist who said ‘At some point, we’ll read the Giving Tree and discuss it’. My immediate reply was ‘I’m trying to get better here, not sicker!’.
This book made me cry when I read it again as an adult. Such a sweet book, and so meaningful.
But I do agree, I looooove his poetry books. I got my little brothers a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends for christmas last year, and it was ridiculous how excited I was to give it to them. But I really couldn’t tell you if they have read any of it yet or not >_<.
RIP Shel… you da man.
I never realized what are horrible person that boy was, he treated that tree like pure crap.
Yes, he did. But that’s the point. Love isn’t something we earn, or something we deserve, or something that is given to us because we are so great. Everyone needs someone, at least someONE who will still love you no matter what you do. Even someone like the boy in the story. Perhaps ESPECIALLY someone like the boy in the story.
That’s the Christian story, too. God’s Holy Word did not become incarnate to suffer and die because we were good and holy. Quite the reverse–He became human to help stupid, selfish, horny, ignorant, greedy SOBs who would not appreciate it.
Amen to that. This was a beautiful story of completely unconditional love. And it was no mistake that the human was on the receiving end of it, as always. One of my absolute favorite books ever.
This is the first time I’ve ever read or seen this book. And to have my first viewing of him reading it to me as I watched the animation- WoW. Shel Silverstein was a genius! I’m still crying. This is a terrific allegory for God/Jesus’ perfect unconditional love. It’s how I’m trying to see the world around me. Even my sister, who greatly hurt me, I still love her and wish she would change her mind. RIP Shel, and thank you for the wonderful everything that was you.
But it’s a FEMALE tree. The message is incredibly sexist: Boys can take and take, girls must give and give, expecting nothing in return. I love the poems, but Shel really blew it with this one. You want a religious message in kidlit, try analysing the search for the Holy Spirit implicit in “Are You My Mother?”
The Book of Genesis says that God made humankind in the divine image, male and female. Hence, both masculine and feminine qualities are in God’s nature.
That was the saddest thing I ever saw! Humans can be so horrible sometimes.
Anyone here seen the Robot Chicken parody? I found it pretty amusing.
CoDependency Manual
I actually JUST read this book for the first time since I was 12 to my boyfriend in the cafe of a bookstore. I started sObBiNg when the tree gets cut down, and he had to read the rest to me.
In conclusion: Great book.
I read this story to my son (he’s a year and a half) and he loves it! It’s actually my fiancee’s copy from when he was younger. Funnily enough, I had just finished reading it when I saw this!! It’s such a beautiful and timeless book.
The Giving tree was a chump!!! She held on to the past, didn’t grow up and move along with it’s tree life when the boy grew up. Then he came back and she bent over backwards to accomodate the boy every time! Damn, it, tree, stand up for yourself!
I think the moral of the story is don’t be exploited pining for something that dissapeared years ago. The tree should have told the boy to go scratch.
Furthermore I’ll bet the boy came back to the tree disapointed with life so many times becuase he probably treated everyone else in his life with the same selfish disdain that he treated the tree with. So after his wife leaves him he goes back to the tree – after he loses his job he goes back to the tree. He treated his wife and co-workers like crap and they told him to go scratch. But the chumpy tree will always take his crap no matter what he asks for. Jerk!
The tree was a total sap. or full of sap. or something. But yeah, the tree was rather a chump, and even as a kid I got pretty annoyed at the tree towards the end – like that annoying person who tries too hard to be your friend and makes it even less likely you’ll want to hang out with them.
….I hope I missed where you suggested Where The Sidewalk Ends first as a great blast from the past. Because this book was a good shel, but W.T.S.E. was awesome!
I’ve heard the story before, but never saw the cartoon. The story could’ve potentially been a pretty decent animation, like the older post “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” But the narrator just ruined it for me. He sounds high on something and his way of talking reminds me of Bush, which is annoying…
Shel (the author), narrated the cartoon. One of the greatest writers, EVER!!!!!1!! He wrote songs for Johnny Cash, Dr Hook, and Kris Kristofferson. So much talent beyond poetry, children books, and singing. He was a phenomenal actor. And you find fault with the quality of his voice??? REALLY!!!!!! Get over yourself. You are probably the same person who doesn’t like Willie Nelson and eonard Cohen because they don’t have ‘pretty’ voices.
I apologize if my opinion felt like a personal insult to you, but I stand by what I said about the narrator’s voice ruining it for me. I don’t see how you could infer that I’m in any way suggesting that the author isn’t a brilliant writer. It was just a comment on one of the aspects of the animation. And I very much do like Leonard Cohen’s voice. So my suggestion is for *you* to get over *yourself* and focus on what a person’s saying before replying.
the boy was so selfish when he was young, he took away everything she had and never said thank you. the tree loved him very much but he just never talked to her unless he wanted something, but the ending is really sweet
This story still makes me tear up a bit.
Me too *sniffles*
i got given this book in hebrew when i was 4…not very useful considering i couldn’t read hebrew but just from the pictures alone i knew the boy was an ungrateful bastard! Poor tree…
i remember seeing a courage the cowardly dog episode with this plot
I HATED this book for the same reason others did. Stupid selfish kid. The tree should have contributed a branch to make a paddle for that kid’s behind.
As a Pagan, I, too, can see the allegory of Divine love in this story. Christians can see this as a metaphore for the love of Christ -and it is possible that this was its original intention-but Pagans (and Wiccans like myself) can easily see it as a metaphore for the love of the Goddess (Mother Nature) for humankind as well. As She continues to give all of herself to us through the gifts of the Earth and Nature, we continue to take all we want from Her-never caring how we harm her. And yet-when our spiritual need is great-or our lives turn for the worse-like the tree in the story-She is still there for us filled with unconditional love.
This story is truly an Epic Win because it is so deep that anyone who reads it can find their own meaning in it and it becomes a very personal thing that is different for everyone who experiences it. Some may see a cautionary tale about the emotional dangers of giving of oneself without restraint-while others may see a tale of the virtue and purity of loving without asking for anything in return.
Yeah, it made me cry when I read it to my son 40 years ago. Then I grew up myself, and realized the tree was basically your gigantic ENABLER.
Just because something masturbates your emotions doesn’t mean it’s healthy.