The Giving Tree

Writing a great children's book, specially for the ages where the adult is the one doing most of the reading, is hard. Either the book is too complicated for the child to understand or too boring or direct for the adult. This is one of those classics where both the child and the adult reader are going to finish the book and think about what they just read. The book goes through the life of a tree and a kid that are forever connected, through what they give to each other. Its a beautiful tale about what is really important in life, something many adults forget as they grow older and work drives everything they do. You can connect a lot of what is in the book with the malaises we see in the world today, so even if it was written over 60 years ago, we're still facing the same issues. All this is written in a way that is easy and simple for the child to understand, with short dialogs, beautiful art and just enough pages to be a great bedtime read. I always love when I get to enjoy the books I read to my kids as much or even more than they do and this is one of those, recommended!

I couldn’t say more about this book holy cow since second grade. This was the love of my life I have since then bought these books over and over again and pass them out to others that are similar to me. It holds such a beautiful place in my heart I can remember the first time it was read to me because I was in second grade and I was the only kid in class that cried lol it can really show you who you are when you read it or have it read to you having it read to you is a whole different experience and giving this as a gift is probably the kindest gesture in my eyes because if I give this to somebody that means I see more to them. I love this author and have his other poetry books. I love it in high school. I also passed it around. Everybody would sign the book after they read it and wrote something little underneath of it and gave it back to me when they were done that was fun. It’s a very special book if you haven’t read it Have somebody read it to you or even on YouTube there are people that read it. It’s so worth the purchase.

Wonderful book!! Makes a great gift!

A beautiful hardcover book, very strong cover, well written story.

Favorite childhood book. I bought this for my nephew.

Two characters interact through the green of youth and into old age, one firmly rooted at home and the other growing up on a journey off the page. This is not my favorite children's book, but negative reviews using words like poison, hate, evil and co-dependency compel me to defend it. The primary cause for controversy appears to be over the man shortening the life of the tree by taking her offerings and forgetting her for a time, which spurs her to offer everything. Cynical subtitles could include "The Taking Boy" or "The Martyr Tree" and some critics would stretch to read "The Battered Tree Syndrome" into this as well. We might be rightly skeptical about unconditional love and nurturing in some types of relationships, but cynicism is neither healthy nor natural for children. Adults should take that lead. The multiple interpretations and discussion generated in various reviews here show that the book stands up as a work of art. Parents should always screen based on their own values and situations, but I believe this book is well suited to introduce kids to the bittersweet of life and love. The Giving Tree is a simple presentation which lends itself to complex overlapping messages on love (whether divine, parental or otherwise), environmental resources, human capacity and mortality. Some reviewers seem to want the book to pass judgment by spelling out morals or consequences (perhaps showing the tree live on as a house or boat or nourishing others). This would detract from its beautiful simplicity, and is not necessary. Parents should reinforce the golden rule on a consistent basis anyway, and children can go with their generally correct instincts. Part of love in the parenting context is to give without tangible or immediate reward. It is sad to see the man take everything, but it is also sad to see love and life inevitably end. I am not aware of a gentler way to illustrate that reality. In the end, the man shown here does not profit from having grown apart from the loving tree of his childhood. I wonder if it would make critics happier to see another tree live in parallel a few extra years but never have loved so deeply or directly. Neither adults nor children need to be told how to feel at the end of this story; we can simply ask ourselves why we feel sad. It is obvious to me that no one would read this and and think that it condones killing the tree, though I suppose the man does have a stump to sit on at the end when he needs it. Diminution of the tree matches his own stooped grayness. He took from the tree, but life gives and takes from us all. We are set up to grow old and wither and let go as we gain the perspective to care the most. At the end of the book we care for the wronged tree (and perhaps even the old man) but learn to take a lesson and let go. Clearly The Giving Tree has lessons at different levels, and for the first reading with a young child, you can focus on both the giving and shared love which continues even at the end of life. I will not dwell on sad tales with my young son, but I worry about the reviewers who write that they do not want their young children to think deeply. Stories like this are a great way to start a kid thinking (subconsciously at least) about spiritual and moral life and responsibilities. It is not as lyrically fun to read as The Lorax, but you can draw a similar lesson of stewardship and preservation from a narrative more understandable to the young.

It’s one of my favourite stories. I just read it again tonight and I loved it again. Alasdair 7yrs old

This book should be in every family's library. It is a classic and can even bring tears to the eyes. It could be read to or by any elementary grade. Each grade would get something different out of the book. You could even say that kids older than elementary grades could discuss its meaning.

All of my four children were brought up from an early age with "The Giving Tree", this iconic book about selfishness, compassion, love and ultimate detachment. This awesome and hugely didactic book left such a mark on all four of them that today as grownups they look back on it as much as a childhood landmark as a literary and artistic jewel to pass on with care to their own children.

I bought this for my 2 year old daughter and even tho she's so little, she loves the book. This will last us for years, since the story is so timeless

Carinissimo!!

Minha filha é esposa adoraram o livro.

Perfect timeless wisdom fit for a young child