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Brand: Mudpuppy / Shel Silverstein
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The Giving Tree 40th Anniversary Edition Book with CD Feature
- ISBN13: 9780060586751
- Condition: New
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The Giving Tree 40th Anniversary Edition Book with CD Overviews
"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.
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.
The Giving Tree 40th Anniversary Edition Book with CD RelateItems
The Giving Tree 40th Anniversary Edition Book with CD Specifications
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
The Giving Tree 40th Anniversary Edition Book with CD CustomerReview
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.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored:Sep 18, 2010 22:01:04
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