Adults either love Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, or they hate it. Very few don’t have an opinion.
I recently took a very small Facebook poll, to bring out the Lovers and the Haters (poll results: 53% in the I Love It column, 47% in the Hate It)
Here are some of the comments:
“Hate it! The boy’s a selfish jerk, and there’s no reciprocity.”
“I loved it! The tree had such unconditional love for the boy.”
“Worst book of all times teaches children be selfish self-centered and to take as much as they can.”
“Love this book”
“I hate it. it’s awful & misogynistic. not to mention it’s lack of regard for natural resources—how is it okay that the boy takes everything and gives nothing back???? it’s a total one-way relationship and speaks volumes about our unsustainable, capitalist, sexist society. i refuse to read it to my 5 year old. but that’s just me”
I’m a hater. Oh, I might cry if I was read it again, and I admit that it is a powerful story, and Silverstein’s simple illustrations are effective, but regardless, I still hate it.
The story (if you have managed to escape it since it was published in 1964), is that of a little boy who claims to love a tree, and a tree who gives all of itself in trying to make the boy happy. When the boy needs apples, the trees gives him all every single one. When the boy wants wood to build a house, it gives up every branch. And when the boy, now an old man, wants a boat, the tree gives up its truck and all that is left is a stump. Now the boy is a very old man and he comes and sits on the stump, and the tree proclaims itself happy.
Some find comfort and limitless love in this story. Others find the boy obnoxious and the tree pathetic. Whether you are of the former or latter opinion, it can easily make you cry.
Shel Silverstein 1930-1999
The author, Shel Silverstein admits he was goaded into writing a children’s book by his friends, and even when he did, his works are not quiet sleepy stories of rambling bunnies. His works, include the bestselling books of poetry Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, feature Silverstein’s recognizable line drawn illustrations filled with tousled-haired humans with knobby knees. His poetry has horrible children and grotesque adults, silly premises and even violent activity, all of which are beloved of most 10-year olds, (and even those far above 10) and are made of simple rhymes, in combination with slyly subversive conclusions. The Giving Tree, however, does not contain any humor, only pathos, which is why its huge popularity stymies some of us who are not fans.
Just to give an accurate idea of just HOW many copies of this book are out there in the world: In 2001 Publishers Weekly (PW) notes it as No.14 in the top-selling children’s books of all time, having sold 5,603,187 at the time of the post in Dec. 2001. In 2017, the books sold 210,370 copies. Hazarding rough numbers, if the book sells 200,00 per year, then since 2001- the sales number should be at around 9 million today. That is a WHOLE lot of crying over a sad old tree.
Link to facebook poll:
Here are links to some of the articles and blog posts that sum up how much passion this book has inspired:
The Haters:
http://alisoncherrybooks.com/uncategorized/why-i-hate-the-giving-tree/
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/giving-tree-50-sadder-remembered
https://litreactor.com/columns/your-favorite-book-sucks-the-giving-tree-by-shel-silverstein
http://www.leslieirishevans.com/1128/on-shel-silverstein-and-the-goddamn-giving-tree/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-kornbluth/hey-kids-a-decade-after-h_b_977212.html
OMG I LOVE this book!!:
http://theweek.com/articles/443019/uncomfortable-truth-giving-tree
https://thefilmstage.com/news/sundance-review-spike-jonze-creates-unique-love-story-with-im-here/
Here is a link to the page of the author/illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Retoldtales 