The Giving Tree
1963
- humorous poetry
- children's poetry, american
- juvenile fiction
- trees
- children's fiction
- trees, fiction
- love, fiction
- emotions, fiction
- behavior, fiction
- conte
The story
From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans. "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. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return. 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 and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. The Giving Tree is a meaningful gift for milestone events such as graduations, birthdays, and baby showers. Shel Silverstein's incomparable career as a bestselling children's book author and illustrator began with Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. He is also the creator of picture books including A Giraffe and a Half, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?, The Missing Piece, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, and the perennial favorite The Giving Tree, and of classic poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, Every Thing On It, Don't Bump the Glump!, and Runny Babbit plus Runny Babbit Returns.
What it’s like
Sparse, spare pages with a lot of white: loose pen-and-ink line drawings, a few quick strokes of shading, and the tree's wide, leafy silhouette filling the frame while the boy shrinks to a small figure at her roots. The prose is short, rhythmic, and repetitive in a lulling way, like a read-aloud that wants to be heard slowly at bedtime. The vibe is wistful and tender, with a quiet ache underneath a gentle surface. It suits a slow afternoon, a bedtime read to a child, or a sit-down alone when you want something brief that lands softly. Emotionally it stays with one long, uneven bond: a giving relationship that unfolds over many years, touched with sadness and resolved with a kind of serene consolation rather than drama. Intensity is very low: no violence, no fear, no sexual content, only a gentle melancholy about aging and need. It is for readers who want a short, sincere, bittersweet story about generosity, for adults revisiting a childhood favorite, and for families looking for a tender book to share.
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