Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780060840983
ISBN: 0060840986
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 64
Publication Date: October 01, 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Release Date: September 27, 2005
Sales Rank: 597301
Studio: HarperCollins

---

Related Items:

• Where the Wild Things Are
• Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
• Harold and the Purple Crayon 50th Anniversary Edition (Purple Crayon Books)
• Goodnight Moon
• see more

---

Editorial Review:

Product Description:


"Once there was a tree ... and she loved a little boy." So begins a story Of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.



Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk ... and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.



This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.



Amazon.com Review:
To say that this particular apple tree is a "giving tree" is an understatement. In Shel Silverstein's popular tale of few words and simple line drawings, a tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy. Making the boy happy makes the tree happy, but with time it becomes more challenging for the generous tree to meet his needs. When he asks for money, she suggests that he sell her apples. When he asks for a house, she offers her branches for lumber. When the boy is old, too old and sad to play in the tree, he asks the tree for a boat. She suggests that he cut her down to a stump so he can craft a boat out of her trunk. He unthinkingly does it. At this point in the story, the double-page spread shows a pathetic solitary stump, poignantly cut down to the heart the boy once carved into the tree as a child that said "M.E. + T." "And then the tree was happy... but not really." When there's nothing left of her, the boy returns again as an old man, needing a quiet place to sit and rest. The stump offers up her services, and he sits on it. "And the tree was happy." While the message of this book is unclear (Take and take and take? Give and give and give? Complete self-sacrifice is good? Complete self-sacrifice is infinitely sad?), Silverstein has perhaps deliberately left the book open to interpretation. (All ages) --Karin Snelson




Rating: - Perfect for so many occasions
This book is one of the best books ever written. I can read it one day and be inspired and on another be discouraged. Its simplicity makes it ambiguous, dimensional, and endlessly fascinating. I am an art teacher for multi-grade unit school and I read this book to Kindergarteners through 12th graders at different times and for different reasons throughout the year. I read it to encourage students to donate to our annual food & clothing charity drive to show how we can keep on giving even ... Read More

---

Rating: - A Sadly beautiful and lovely story
I grew up with the Giving Tree and it's always been a bittersweet apple kind of story. I think every child needs to learn his/her effects on others, even at a very young age. I disagree with the other parent about sheltering your children. This story is about every loved one, or anyone who has truly loved another unconditionally, and most importantly in this day and age, or about our mother earth, whom we should cherish for every bit she is giving to us while we destroy her. I'm not usually a "tree ... Read More

---

Rating: - Great childhood memory
This is one of the best classics. I loved this book about about the love between boy and nature. It teaches children about appreciation and kindness. Its such a beautifull book that even at my age... Currently 25, have in my books and cherish it dearly. A must have for any child. I assure you they will love it like all of us did.

---

Rating: - The Giving Tree
A child's tale of the morality of going green and what happens when we don't.

---

Rating: - children's book
Wonderful book to build self-esteem in young children. Used as a gift but have one also.

---

Browse for similar items by category:

• Ages 4-8 - Children's Books - Subjects - Books - Picture Books
• Ages 4-8 - Children's Books - Subjects - Books - General
• Ages 4-8 - Children's Books - Subjects - Books - General AAS
• ( S ) - Authors & Illustrators, A-Z - Children's Books - Subjects - Books - Silverstein, Shel
• Classics by Age - Literature - Children's Books - Subjects - Books - General