Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful lesson about giving and taking.
Review: This is one of my favorite children's books to read aloud to the preschool lab at My High School. The children love it so much and have begged me to read it again and again. There are other great Silverstein Books, but this is certainly one of the best. My friend Miss Elliott, hates this book because she feels that the boy took everything from the tree to be selfish. She has dubbed it "The Taking Boy." I totally disagree with her because the tree was happy to give. When the boy wants money, the tree gave him her apples to sell in the city for a living. When the boy needs a house, the tree gave him her branches to build one with. Although a tree can't live without her branches, a person can't live very easily without a house. Even after the tree is nothing but a dead stump, she tells the boy to sit on her when he is tired. I am writing this review in memory of Shel Silverstein, who was just as generous as the tree itself.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful book for anyone who has ever loved
Review: I had almost completely forgotten about this book until I saw it in the bookstore. And then I remembered instantly that once upon a time that I can't remember anymore, I had loved reading this story. I thought that it must have touched me because it was about having to grow up and let go of the past. But reading the book over again, I knew what it was really about. It's about loving somebody so much that you feel ready to sacrifice anything in order to have them want to be with you. And it's about the pain of knowing that you can't always make the person feel that way. I think this is a great book for children and adult's alike because these feelings are ones we expeience at every age.BTW, has anyone else who has read the book and looked closely at the pictures noticed that the second heart the boy drew on the tree (the one of him and Y.L. (young love) disappears when the boy is sad? I think it is a good reminder that even those who break our hearts have gotten their hearts broken by someone else.
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Summary: Thank you for this story
Review: I think "The Giving Tree"is a good book becaue my interpretation is that it is cruel if one boy gives everything and the other gives nothing . Thank you very much. Thank you for this story.
Rating:
Summary: Everything a book should be
Review: This is by far the most enjoyable book I've ever read. I remember this book from childhood but I bought my own copy this summer. I'm 20 years old and it still brings me to tears. A must-own for all ages.
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Summary: An important learning tool for your children
Review: I have read many negative reviews on this book "the giving tree". I have also read the positive ones and they don't seem to portray the book in the same way I do. I believe this is a wonderful book which teaches not of love and not of the environment but of what we find disturbing in life. I feel this book is depressing and frustrating but I think that the reason you learn from it is because you recognize that there is something wrong in the relationship. One gives and gives and loves and loves and is happy and the other takes and takes and is never satisfied. When I read this, I feel that it is not the kind of relationship I want. If you discuss the book with your children I think they can learn to recognize a bad relationship before its too late. Because these relationships are a big problem when our children grow up, maybe we can embed in their heads that this is not right from the beginning. To learn from this book, you need to discuss the issues with your children. Life is not full of perfect relationships and to teach your children of only the good on life, how are they to recognize the bad.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTLY THE BEST!!!
Review: THIS HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS OUT THERE. I REMEMBER HAVING THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS LITTLE. NOW I FOUND ONE FOR MY SON WHO IS 2 YEARS OLD. IT'S A WONDERFUL BOOK.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to find any positive message
Review: You can squint, you can stare, you can read it over and over but any positive message in this book will still be hard to find. I usually read the book before reading it to my niece but I didn't do so with this one. I wish I had. I felt like stopping half-way through the story but I hoped it would get better. You can explain it to a child in a certain way but you can't escape the negative undertones of this book. It's sad and depressing. It seems like it's teaching that it's ok to keep asking for more and more and to never be happy with what you have. Adults could understand the meaning but have fun trying to explain it to a child. I don't recommend this book.
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Summary: A book with a big heart, great lesson and magnificent feel.
Review: Anyone wanting to teach their child a love of nature and human existence must choose this book. A life of give and take is a happy one. When I read this book to my five-year-old son,(He has it memorized.)we always read the sentence,"And the tree was happy" together. Reading this book has, I think, strengthened my son's love for nature. This week, we're forming a leaf collection and plan to plant his own TREE this fall. God bless Shell Silverstein for his vision and his talents.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story
Review: I am having a hard time understanding why people are reading so much into this story. It's a beautiful tale of a tree who loved a boy. That's all I choose to interpret. No, I don't think it means I have to give someone unconditional love and then let them take advantage of me for all eternity. I think it means it's a very sweet STORY. When we all read this as kids (if we were fortunate enough to do so), I bet it never occured to any of us that there was some serious life lessons within. I don't think that's what Shel intended. I always thought it was sweet and touching that the tree gave just to make the boy happy. I can't wait until my kids are old enough to read it, it's definitely on my list of future purchases. It goes down as one of my all-time favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Teaches a good lesson
Review: I don't believe the main point of this story is to be "used" and become a "doormat". I believe that it is to make a poor example of the boy who takes and takes and doesn't know how to give. Who wants to be like that? I bought it as a gift for my nephew because he always wanted people to do things for them, even if they didn't have the resources. I wanted him to learn from this.
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