Customer Reviews
Love this book... 
2008-05-05
This is one of my favorites! The only bad thing is that the author's scary picture is the entire back cover. Ugh... :)
Greatest Book! 2008-05-02
This is one of the greatest children's books ever written. There should be a copy in every child's bookshelf. It makes a great gift for new parents.
I couldn't believe the 84 one star reviews. . . 2008-05-01
I had to write a review because this is one of my favorite books of all time, and I was so shocked by the number of one star reviews. I think that the lesson of this story is to be more like the tree and less like the boy. This book demonstrates unconditional love, the type of love a mother shares with a child, and the way that love and giving changes over the course of one's life. I cannot say enough about this book and about how much I loved that tree when I was little and how much it taught me about the joy of giving to other people. This book truly taught me, at a young age, that there was reward and pleasure in making other people happy, especially unselfishly. I wish the people who gave it one star would look beyond the storyline and what they see as a "cycle of abuse" and see it through the lens of selflessness, generosity, and unconditional love.
one of the greatest books ever 2008-04-30
this has to be on my all time favourites list. i tear up every time i read it. its a beautiful story about unconditional love, i'd say between a mother and a child. its great to see stories like this in today's society where what you 'really need to worry about' is people cheating you, someone ripping you off, not getting your fair share, etc.. society's so focused on the individual and selfishness is so celebrated that stories like this are refreshing to read and much needed in my opinion. to be honest i was surprised to see the negative reviews, but i guess that has to happen with widely read books, there's always a critic, and this is a good thing. but i would like to say in response that, yes the boy is taking from the tree and the tree never asks for anything, just offers everything, this is true. but, the reader takes on the perspective of the tree, the giver, and they experience this giving as something joyous, as an expression of love. when you love someone don't you want to do something to make them happy? and when someone gives you something you want or need, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes not, isn't that a great feeling? to know that they care, sometimes enough to go out of their way, just for you? the boy never demands anything from the tree, the tree offers to make the boy happy, like a parent (or even a grandparent, anyone who cares really). parents do everything for their children, sometimes this goes unnoticed, but they continue to do it because they love their children with all that they are. you can definitely pick out abuse if you look for it, but only if you look for it, not if you take the story as it is. it is a story about loving no matter what, and it kind of makes me sad that some people take that as abuse, especially when the boy did nothing offensive or abusive. he just took what was offered.
it's a beautiful story, and i think everyone should read it at least once in their lives.
sad and lovely 2008-03-25
I have always loved this book but I think it's kinda too sad for little kids. Though maybe it's just me. I'm kinda sappy. It's an unforgettable, simply written, powerful story.
true meaning 2008-03-21
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
If I could I'd give No stars! 
2008-03-07
I'm always surprised at the amount of people who tell me they love this book. I hear them say over and over "it teaches children appreciation". I beg to differ I found this book disturbing and the only thing I can see it teaching my child is to be selfish and UNappreciative. I see what Shel is trying to do here and maybe people feel ok about letting the tree give all of itself till the boy cuts it down to a mere stump. IS there even any thank you's in this book? UGH I don't know I couldn't dislike it more I really couldn't in fact after I checked it out of the library I purposely drove back the next day to get it out of our library pile so my child wouldn't mistakenly ask for it again.
It's Never Too Soon 2008-03-01
One of my "Top Ten" chidren's books. What a great book for teaching kids about appreciation at an early age! What does it mean to be truly thankful for a gift? The great lesson in this book is that you really can find joy through giving to others, and not seeking anything in return. I had to take a break tonight from reading "The Prince" for one of my kolege classis, to read my daughter a bedtime story. Machiavelli would have thought Shell Silverstein to be a fool; but Silverstein found the "truth" that had evaded Machiavelli his whole life - and he wrote it in such a way that even a child could understand. This journey isn't about fear, or power, or greed. It's about realizing that the other guy is trying to get through it just the same as you are, and that by helping the other guy, your life becomes that much more meaningful.
Peace.
Classic Silverstein - Heartwarming Classic 2008-02-26
A heartwarming tale of the lifetime relationship between a boy and a tree. Teach important lessons of relationships to people of all ages. This is a must-have. It still touches my heart every time I read it.
growth 2008-02-16
There is no doubt that this literary expressinon- in the form of a poem- provides us with a lesson that will remain in our mind and heart for the rest of our life. The poem itself is a metaphor of growth being the latter a blend of generosity and selfishness . The tree would stand for generosity and the boy a symbol of self-centredness without any grief for the ones near him , not even his real friend -the tree .But love is perfect and so the giving tree never forgets the one that will always be in need of his care and protection, that is to say, the boy .
