Module 1: The Giving Tree

Book Summary:

The Giving Tree by Shel Siverstein

The Giving Tree is about a boy and his tree.  The tree is portrayed as a female; she is loving, selfless and willing to give the boy anything to make him happy. The boy on the other had becomes more and more selfish as he grows older, demanding money, and a home from the tree.  In the end, the tree has nothing more to give the boy, who is now an elderly man - there is nothing left of the tree but her undying love and a stump, which she offers to him to sit upon.

Silverstein, S.,(1964). The giving tree. New York: Harper & Row.

Impressions:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found it sad and don’t know if it’s a book about a selfish boy, a book about unconditional love or a book aimed at teaching children to share.  It reminded me of a mother-child relationship, where the child takes and takes, and the mother gives and gives.  Is it a warning to parents not to give in to a child’s demands so easily?  I think a child would not grasp the message this book offers unless an adult engaged the child and asked questions such as, “Do you think the boy should demand so much of the tree?” I do like the book in the sense that I love books that have ambiguous messages and make the reader really think about what they just read. I wonder what my 6 year old self would have thought of this book?

Professional Review:

School Library Journal

The Book Review

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. Don’t Bump the Glumpl: and Other Fantasies. 64p. HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 9780061493386.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. A Giraffe and a Half. 48p. HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 9780060256555.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. The Giving Tree. 64p. HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 9780060256654.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back. 112p. HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 9780060256753.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. 183p. HarperCollins. $18.99. ISBN 9780060572341.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel. Who Wants A Cheap Rhinoceros? 64p. S. & S. $17.99. ISBN 9781481415934.

ea vol: illus. by Shel Silverstein. 2014. Tr.

K Up—Several classic tales from Silverstein are celebrating anniversaries, most notably The Giving Tree, still popular at 50. Though this spare but tender allegory for the parent/child relationship still occupies a celebrated place on bookshelves, it’s a divisive title, with some critics finding the boy selfish and narcissistic and others even positing that the work represents our destructive relationship with nature. Other new releases employ Silverstein’s trademark humor, such as Lafcadio, a laugh-out-loud tale of a sharpshooting lion, now in its 50th year. Dreamers, wishers, liars, hope-ers, pray-ers, and magic bean buyers are in for a treat: Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein’s funny, lyrical, and downright bizarre poetry collection, turns 40, and this newest edition contains 12 extra poems. At 50, A Giraffe and a Half and Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? have yet to show their age; these picture books are ridiculous in all the best ways. Finally, meet the Wild Gazite, the Pointy-Peaked Pavarius, and the Long-Necked Preposterous, in Don’t Bump the dump!: And Other Fantasies, Silverstein’s first poetry collection—and the only one in full color—whose arresting wordplay and images are wonderfully disconcerting.

Don’t Bump the Glumpl: and Other Fantasies/A Giraffe and a Half/The Giving Tree…. (2015). School        Library Journal, 61(1), 63-64.

Library Uses:

This book could be used in a library setting to show the usefulness of trees, from play to how its fruit, wood, and trunk can be used to build houses or boats.  It can also be used to show the effects of deforestation and environmental destruction. Finally, the book can be used to teach children the importance of sharing or saying “Thank you,” which I noticed the boy never said to the tree.