Rating: 
Summary: the Giving Tree
Review: I think the reviewer who was offended by the story missed the whole point of the story. I use this book with my AP students, who are juniors and seniors in high school. At first, many of them say, "Gee, it must have been great to be that little boy in the story and get everything he ever wanted from the tree." But when we really look at the story, they discover that the boy is a very selfish, self-centered person who constantly uses the tree for his own needs. But they also discover that the tree is a willing accomplice. As the story progresses, the tree actually begins to volunteer the sacrifices for the boy, and one has to wonder what the tree is getting in return. Certainly not any great respect fromt the boy for her sacrifice. One would think that the tree would learn over time that the boy is going to use her until she says no, but that doesn't seem to be the nature of the tree. Just as that is not the nature of those pleasers in life who allow others to walk all over them, use them, and never even mumble a simple "thanks." My students spend a lot of time talking about the times in their own lives when they have been the boy and used others to further their own ends. They are very honest about this human failing, with stories of friends, teachers, and parents they've taken advantage of over time. But they also talk about the times they allowed themselves to be the tree and be used by someone else--and how bad and angry that makes them feel. In the final analysis, the book prompts a great deal of soul-searching among my high-school students in terms of the kind of person they want to be in life. To me, that makes is a very moving and worthwhile book.
Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: Like the reader from Brunswick, GA, I too am offended. I'm offended by the suggestion that this book in any way, shape, or form demeans women. Shel Silverstein, instead, could have written a book about a Grandfather who adores and loves his only Granddaughter. Unfortunately, the Granddaughter doesn't appreciate him because she's too busy growing up. I guess the book could then be condemned for taking advantage of the elderly. Take off the feminist glasses and enjoy a touching story about "the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return." I agree that such giving should be reciprocated; use this book to teach your children about giving and taking. It is a simple story that has stood the test of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Letting people use you
Review: This book is about giving but it is also about letting people take advantage of you. The tree gives and gives till it is nothing but a stump. The boy (later the man when he grows up) uses and uses with no thought of the tree's needs, its feelings, or the tree's life. It is interesting that the user is male and the one being taken unfair advangage of is female. In this day of political correctness, it is a wonder that people like this book. Why didn't the author make the user female and the victim male? I bet it would have not been as popular this way. I find it offensive. We are teaching girls to let people use them and teaching boys to have no concern about hurting someone: chopping them down bit by bit as is done in this book. Some people actually use this book in classrooms. We need to be aware that this is not just teaching about giving. It is teaching about let people abuse you. The tree even likes being used this way even when she is just a stump instead of the beautiful tree of her younger days.
Rating:
Summary: or taking boy?
Review: recently to my pleasant surprise I found a copy of The Giving Tree for a quarter at the local library book sale. I brought it home & showed my wife and she said: "I can't believe you got that book, it's so sad". I'll admit I may have scoffed a little. Then I read it and darn near found my eyes growing moist. I just felt so sorry for the tree that I wanted to pistol whip that selfish, acquisitive kid/man. Which brings us to the question: Is it possible that this slender children's book is one of the most insightful comments ever written on the "Me" generation?This may strike you as absurd, but take a look at the First Things Symopsium about the book which can be found online. For my own part, I read the book as a tragedy, and despite my initial reaction, the boy/man strikes me as the tragic figure. He is completely consumed by selfish concerns and what he can get from the tree. The story could equally well be called The Taking Boy. And in the twilight of his life, what does he have left after taking and taking and taking? Nothing. In fact, he has to return to the tree and ask for more. The final scene seems less of a "reconciliation" than one more desperate act of selfish consumption on his part. It reminded me of Citizen Kane, with Charles Foster Kane looking back at his life from his death bed and realizing how unfulfilled he is. Silverstein was just a tad older than the Baby Boomers, but his status as a pop icon rested on their enthusiasm. So it's ironic that they made him a best-selling author by blindly reading this truly devastating critique of their cohort and their lifestyle to their kids. Ironic, but delicious. GRADE: Giving Tree: A+
Rating:
Summary: a thought-provoking, awe-inspiring message for all readers.
Review: Shel Silverstein has a powerful message to deliver-and he does. Long after I finished it, the message remained in my head and heart. Actually, there are two lessons here. The first one, which I call the children's lesson, teaches about our selfishness, and how we sometimes forget to appreciate our gifts. The second, more "adult" lesson, could be translated as mankind's abuse of our natural resources, and the desire to always take the Earth's treasures, with little regard for the consequences. However, I must respectfully disagree with an earlier review, in which the reviewer could find no redeeming quality in this story. Depressing?Yes, to the knowledgeable adult mind. Pessimistic? Perhaps, again to the adult mind. However, even small children, who view it simply as a story, with no lesson or intention, can see that the boy in the book is selfish, and the tree is a great friend. As a mother of 2, I wish everything I read to my children was bright and sunny and had a happy ending. Those stories exist. They are called fairy tales. If my children are to learn to live in this strange world of ours, they need to learn from an early age about "real life." I am flad there are books like this one, which tell it like it is in a gentle way, leaving the (mature) reader with a faint glimmer of hope for our future.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Story
Review: A great and yet simple story of a young boy, a "giving" tree and unconditional love. But me thinks this tale was meant more for the parents reading it than the kids since I have a feeling the moral goes over their blessed little self-absorbed heads. Be prepared to tear up the first couple of times you read it and whatever you do - DON'T read it when you're pregnant unless you have plenty of Kleenex on hand.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmmm.......I liked it as a child...
Review: Most of these reviews are alittle too in depth for me...Looking at it from a child's point of view (since it is meant for kids right?) , I was read this book many times thru my young years and liked it....I remember feeling sad for the tree but at the same time happy cuz "the tree was happy"....then hearing the page where it said "But not really" and thinking "I THOUGHT so !! Who could be happy all chopped off?!"....As a child, The last page was sad and poginant but also had a touch of Happiness in that the tree and the boy were finally again together and happy (no matter their relationship - kids don't look so into things like we do). At 5 or 8 years, you don't really connect things with relationships, the environment or anything like that - It is a story about the joy of giving...Yeah the kid is a brat and I didn't like him but I remember centering my thoughts on the tree.... As an adult, a multitude of issues come to mind and symbolism etc....I also wonder why the tree is female....etc etc yada yada......But as a child, it is just a story.....a story that for very young minds has one meaning and for older minds has another....Perhaps Shel meant it to be this way....
Rating:
Summary: Great Book as Child or Adult
Review: I'm a bit confused by one of the reviews on this book. I don't believe that a book as simple as this has undertones to suppress women or condone the mistreatment of other. Instead the book shows a glimpse of what some real relationships can and sometimes are like, specifically that of parent and child. The tree shows great similarities to the emotions showed by parents to their children. A key message in this book is a parents love and desire to "GIVE" regardless of the reciprocation. All and all when it comes down to it, this is a true classic book for both child and adult. It may even bring them better together by understanding there own relationship.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great lesson in life!
Review: The Giving Tree is a meaningful children's story about giving, caring, and love. In this story a tree gives everything she has to a boy out of love for him. He continues to take from the tree until nothing is left but a stump. The boy in this book is selfish, but the tree still loves him. This book teaches us that when we give of ourselves to others, we can truly be happy. It is always better to give than to receive. This is a wonderful story for all ages. Reading this to your child is a great way to teach them a valuable lesson about giving. I LOVED this book!
Rating:
Summary: Five stars from 3 generations of readers
Review: My mother got this book for me in the 70's, and I recently picked it up for my own son. It's a simple, powerful book that should be on every family's bookshelf. The book mostly plays out the them of self-sacrifice for the betterment of those we love, and it does so in an engaging way. It's easy to get upset with the boy's selfishness, but is the way he treats the tree really so different from the way we treat our own parents? A touching story, and one I hope to read to my grandchildren some day.
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