My Kids Turned This Into A Great Discussion

books:

	• The Giving Tree HarperCollins, 1992 - 64 pages average customer review:based on 611 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The book that keeps on giving

This was my favorite book growing up and remains my all-time favorite children's book. I've probably read this book over 500 times as a child and to my children and it never fails to disappoints. If there is a perfect book, this is it.

Silverstein's simplicity, both in word and illustration, belie the powerful message of the book. It is about unconditional love. As a child, I read the book and was always sad by the last page, thinking about the this young, healthy tree, ultimately turning into a stump with nothing left to give. As a parent, I read this book to my children and think about my unconditional love for my children and understand why the tree gave so much. And it is not a giving of material goods, but of the basic needs of life -- food, shelter.

I am both surprised and disappointed by the number of negative reviews. If the true testament of great art is to evoke powerful emotions, this book surely has. No matter how many times I read this book, it never fails to strike a deep emotional chord. For me, this is not something that happens frequently and truly is the hallmark of a classic, timeless piece of art.

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My Kids Turned This Into A Great Discussion

I really didn't like this book as I read it to my second grade class but the discussion my children had after the story was amazing. Basically, my kids thought it was a lesson on bad parenting and selfishness. They thought if the tree didn't give the boy everything, he would have learned to do things for himself and that if a parent gives their children too much, they are going to have to provide for them forever and harm themselves in the process. What ever you may think about this story, it does teach many different lessons, depending on how you want to look at it.

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Every Prodigal Son Belongs to SOMEONE

Howdy,

This review isn't so much to review the book itself--which I and my wife loved as children and love as much now--but to review the critics. Most of whom seem to find this an exercise which merely attempts to validate abusive relationships. Why give and give to those who keep taking? Why?

We take the other side of the coin: Unconditional love. This is NOT a story about the boy. This is a story about the tree (the mother, the father, the wife, the husband, the whoever who has the strength to wait, to know, that love may not change anything . . . but it may . . . it MAY).

But an opinion is just that. To those who found the book a validation for abuse, we sincerely thank you for making us re-examine our own point of view, even though we did not agree.

Either way, definitely worth reading yourself . . . and then deciding if it is appropriate for your children.

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Love it

We love Shel and we love this book. We read it weekly and have for over 3 years now.

reviews: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, page 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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