The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
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Book Reviews of The Giving Tree
Book Review: an introduction & indoctrination of codependency
Summary: 1 Stars
i would actually like to rate this book with 5 burnt-out stars - because that is what these sentiments can do, cause bright shining stars to lose all their glimmer & sparkle.please ~please!~ i beg you: DO NOT SHARE THIS BOOK! when i was younger, i thought it was a beautiful testament of love & i even gave it to my "first true love". it was this sort of sick propaganda that kept us together long after either of us were happy and that fed us losing any concept of who we were as individuals. it is this sort of self-sacrificing martyrdom that makes cynics out of romantics. it is this psuedo-selflessness that breeds selfish broken people. even imagine the term "self less" without self. it reminds me of hubris! there are far too many people hurting as it is without encouraging them to be proud of being a doormat.
if you want a simple book that provides a better blueprint for relationships ~ look to the same author! _the missing piece_ & especially _the missing piece meets the big o_ are two of my absolute all-time favorites (and definitely "must-haves" in the wake of the putrid philosophies this expounded)
remember: "the best relationships are where the love for one-another overshadows the need for one another" (my apologies to the dali lama for probably inadvertantly butchering his quote, but the sentiment is solid within me & i hope that it will passed onto many more instead of the converse of this which is what _the giving tree_ promotes)
Book Review: The tears still fall after all these years...
Summary: 5 Stars
When a book causes a reader to feel an emotion strong enough to physically affect them, that is pure art. Shel Silverstein has created such a work of art and it is called, "The Giving Tree".I first read this book when I was just a toddler and was in fact one of the first books I ever read on my own. I cried uncontrollably then, and to this day even the mere mention of this book sends tears running down my face. The book has a powerful affect on me even today as a 25-year-old.
Though the book may seem depressing due to the great sacrifices made by the tree on behalf of the "uncaring" boy, I feel that a deeper meaning lies within this. Just as a mother or father would give everything she or he had to ensure thier child's happiness, so did the tree. For in a sense, the tree was the boy's mother or father. And so, the tree gave up every physical possession it had to try to make the boy happy. And although the boy shows very little affection toward the tree (save for the beginning when he was a young boy and told the tree he loved it), there is a subtle hint of the boy's affection. (The boy continues to come back to the tree depending on it for support.) And when the boy becomes an old man he returns to the tree even then just to sit and enjoy it. That is a form of love-companionship.
Why does the book make me cry even now? Because it makes me reflect upon how much I love my child and how I, like the tree, would give everything to make her happy.
Book Review: Heart Warming Story
Summary: 5 Stars
This heart felt story is about a little boy and a tree. The tree is so happy when the little boy is happy. When the little boy was little he desired shade and a place to play and the tree enjoyed watching the boy. When he got older and needed money the tree said to sell the apples to get money. The boy grew and wanted to build a house. The generous tree gave him her branches for wood so that he could build his house. When the boy got even older and was full of boredom and wanted to have a boat the tree gave him her trunk to carve out and make his boat. Finally when he was old and gray and just wanted and needed a place to rest the tree told him to sit on her stump which still had the carved heart at its base that read in a heart "Me + T" that was once carved by the boy. And again the tree was happy that her boy was happy.Shel Silverstein has a amazing ability to make people fall in love with his simple words and sketching. This book I believe was trying to show that point that the act of giving to someone can be the best feeling in the world. Also, knowing that you can forever help a friend is a wonderful feeling. Also maybe in directly sort of representing a parent and how they are constantly giving there child everything but this makes them truly happy and satisfied to watch there own children happy.
I love this story and I will forever continue to love this book. I find the meaning remarkable and the story so well written. How could I have any bad things to say.
Book Review: The Giving Tree
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever felt that you had a connection with a living creature that wasn't human? This book that I am about to tell you is so sad and so happy at the same time. This book is about a tree and a little boy. They are best friends and the boy comes and plays with the tree all day everyday and the tree is happy. But then the boy asks the tree for some things that the tree can't give him.
I love this book. It called The Giving Tree and the writer of the book is Shel Silverstein. I love this book so much that when I was a little boy I would read this book every day. This book is one of the first books I ever read. When I read this book I want to climb a tree outside. I just want to climb the tree to see how far I can go. Every time my brother and I fought or when I got mad I always used to read this book and it made me feel better and happier.
The theme of the book is that when you love somebody so much you give them everything that you have. That is like making a sacrifice. One time I was cold and my uncle give me his shirt. He loves me, and that why he give me his shirt. He made that sacrifice for me.
The author usually writes poetry and not sad stories. He is famous for his poems that make kids laugh. This book, on the other hand, will make you think that you are a little kid again. I recommend this book to people who do not like to read and also people that like to read. When I read this book I didn't like to read but I still liked this book.
Book Review: Everyone calm down
Summary: 5 Stars
It's interesting to see how visceral some people's negative reaction to this book is. They are troubled by the fact that not only does it seem unpleasant, but that they can't quite put their finger on what the moral is. So they oversimplify it, trash it, and want to hide it from their kids. For those who want to move beyond "TREE EQUALS SELFLESS MOM" here's my take on it: this book is possibly the most eloquent short essay on life and what it unfortunately means to grow up. Imagine the tree represents childhood joy and innocence. As the boy gets older he desires what we are all told to desire when we "grow up": try to make your fortune, settle down and have a family, and when you reach that midlife crisis go off on a prolonged retirement vacation. And at each step he takes / sells / kills a little bit of that original joy of living. But even at the end, even if it's nothing left but a stump, that original joy still remains to be there for you no matter how old you get.
Anyway, like I said, that's my take. You might have your own opinion. But however you look at it, no matter how old you are, THIS BOOK MAKES YOU THINK. If you can't handle a book that doesn't have pat answers and easy wrap ups, don't buy it. If you hate ever having to think about unpleasant realities and consider literature escapes into fantasy land, don't buy it. If you want to coddle your kids and never have a tough conversation with them, don't buy it. Otherwise, you're in for a bittersweet treat.