Rating: 
Summary: Misunderstood
Review: I think many people forget what it was like to be a child. It seems that those who read this book when they were younger enjoyed the book for what it was. I knew as a child that this book was depressing and that something was wrong with the way things were handled. It is a simplistic view to think the author was trying to encourage anyone to act like either the boy or the tree. The point of this story seems clear, taking all the time is bad, and so is giving all the time. This isn't a "how to" book, it's a lesson on how not to be. If all you do is give and allow yourself to be abused, then you will be endlessly abused. If you only take and never give you will live an unhappy life. Children aren't stupid, I got the point of this story at a very young age. I didn't like the way it ended, but at the same time it's good to learn this lesson at the beginning of life rather than when you are halfway to dead. It's a perfect book to give children if you want them to grow with knowledge and strength.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing but Thought-Provoking
Review: Although I dislike the story, I give the author credit for creating such a short book that has generated such a huge amount of discussion. Both environmentally and in terms of relationships, what goes on in this book is disturbing. Not only is the boy's ungrateful abuse of the tree unsettling, but the fact that the tree is a female being taken advantage of by a male has nothing good to say about either sex. The "boy" ages but never matures into a "man," and the tree tries too hard to be loved and does much more than she should to try to please the boy, who becomes increasingly ungrateful. Many of the reviewers here have pointed out that the book is about happiness, and perhaps it is, but is it about the boy's happiness or the tree's happiness? The boy loves the tree and is happy when he takes only things that do not harm the tree, such as fallen leaves and shade. The more he takes, the less happy he becomes. The tree is happy, no matter what she must give the boy, but she becomes less and less of a tree.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Parable
Review: This is a beauty parable for how nature gets destroyed providing for our needs and our wants. I am hoping this tells my son (who will be a environmentalist someday I hope) how important trees are for our sustenance. I wish the author had shown the man doing something to restore the apple tree to her glory at the end.
Rating:
Summary: The Giving Tree (school age)
Review: The characters in this book are a boy and a tree. Throughout the story the boy ages, but is always referred to as "the boy". The story is about a relationship between a tree and a boy. The boy enjoys the time he spends with the tree, eating her apples, climbing her trunk or sleeping in her shade. This makes the tree happy. As the boy gets older he becomes more demanding of the tree, wanting things like money and a house. The tree loves the boy and his happy to help him however she can. This is a story about love and self-sacrifice. It can teach a valuable lesson about how we treat the ones we love and how being greedy and demanding can hurt others. The illustrations are extremely simple black and white drawings with little detail of the background. The simplicity of them works well as it develops the characters and follows the story yet allows for the focus to stay with the story itself. The language is simple and leaves the story open for interpretation. This is a great book; it carries with it a valuable lesson about life and relationships. Children may not be touched or influenced in the way adults are, but the exposure to the story introduces a new concept that can be carried through and reflected upon as they get older and further in their development. Discussions can go in many directions with this book. Children may simply want to talk about things like climbing trees or picking apples. Children may love this story as just that, a story about a boy and a tree. Some may catch on to the meaning of the story and share their interpretation with the group. Open-ended questions can be used to encourage discussion about the story and it's meaning, ensuring that the positive messages are taken from the story. Asking things like "How do you think the tree felt when the boy was gone?" "Why do you think the tree didn't ask the boy to give her anything?" "Do you think the boy loved the tree?" Children may amaze you with their responses. Discussions and sharing are great extensions of the book. Children can use the information gained from the book and incorporate it into their social interactions, dramatic play, and personal relationships. These discussions can help plant one of many seeds towards the development of social skills and morality. This book introduces a valuable lesson to children; however the author leaves it open to interpretation and does not force his personal meaning on the reader. Some read the book and see that it is about greed and selfishness, promoting the idea that taking advantage of someone you love is ok. I have heard it dubbed "The Taking Boy". It seems to be a controversial book that people either love or hate. I think, however, that if the educator/reader knows the children and extends the book with appropriate questions and discussions that the children will be exposed a deeper meaning, which can be carried on into future development. Some of us are the tree, some of us are the boy, some of us have been both, but most have been something in between, we can decide which one we want to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavily overrated.
Review: This book is boring for my children, and they are huge book-lovers. It is geared more for adults. It should not be a children's book. It's an adult's idea of what a children's book should be. The story contains no real substance. My children never ask me to read this book. Don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite children's book
Review: "The Giving Tree" is my favorite children's book. I would recommend it not only for children, but for anyone who has a heart that is beating. The book is a simple story about the lifelong relationship between a young boy and his favorite tree. Throughout the stages of his life, the tree continually gives everything she has to meet his needs. Every time the tree gives of herself to the little boy, no matter how big the sacrifice, the book proclaims "and the tree was happy". This book rivals "the Velveteen Rabbit" as a children's book that is also timeless and inspiring literature.
Rating: 
Summary: The Giving Tree
Review: The Giving Tree is a book ment for 6 to 8 year old kids.
The book is about a boy who loves to play with a tree that he loves very much. Eventully the boy gets to old and leaves the tree for many years and never comes back unless he wants something. Eventully the tree has no more thing to give.
This is a wonderful book that is full of mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Which one are you?
Review: Some of us are the tree, some of us are the boy, some of us have been both, but most have been something in between. I first read this book as a child, I never forgot it. My daughter absolutely loves it (though she is too young to fully understand it. She cried the first time I read it when the boy cut the tree down.) I was a tree to someone once. I gave and gave and was never fully appreciated. Many years later, there is a deep regret for the both of us. Children may love this story as just that, a story about a boy and a tree. But most adults who have been in relationships will sadly see themselves as one or the other. Regardless of what many people have written here about this book, I think it's beautiful. I don't think anyone who ever reads it can ever forget it.
Rating:
Summary: The Giving Tree
Review: This book The Giving Tree is about a little boy who talks to a tree and the tree talks back. The boy starts to get older and older as the boy gets older he does not visit the tree as much. When the boy visits the tree he always asks for something.
This book teaches kids not to rely on one thing to help you because the source might not always be there. The source could run out of what ever it is giving to some one.
The age level for The Giving Tree is six and up. I say that because if you are under the age of six you might not understand it.
I think that The Giving Tree was a good book because it had a good story line. It was also interesting how the boy kept getting older and asking for things. Over all it was a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: I'm scared by the picture on the back
Review: I like this book and I take it out whenever I'm feeling a little too happy. I have been tempted, however, to tape a piece of cardboard over the picture on the back cover. Yikes, that guy looks like he chews glass for fun.
Besides that, has anyone besides me ever wondered if this book was just a metaphor for for the feelings Mr. Silverstein had for his voracious audience? "Here, I give and I give and I give, but you never appreciate me, but maybe when you're old and too wizened to be distracted by the future, then you might appreciate me like you did when you were little." Whenever I turn a page I feel like I'm ripping someone's arms off or something. It's kind of like that book, "The Monster at the End of This Book" by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin, which everyone should read.
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