The Giving Tree

Confession - I cry every time when I read this book 🫣 The Giving Tree is a beautiful, thought-provoking tale that speaks to readers of all ages. Shel Silverstein’s simple yet powerful writing and illustrations deliver a moving story about the nature of giving, selflessness, and love. The story revolves around the relationship between a boy and a tree. As the boy grows, the tree selflessly gives everything it has to make him happy. It’s a touching metaphor about unconditional love and the passage of time, offering valuable lessons about gratitude and selflessness. Silverstein’s illustrations are minimalist but add depth to the narrative, perfectly complementing the emotional weight of the story. Although some readers may interpret the ending as bittersweet or even sad, it opens up meaningful conversations about the balance between giving and receiving. Whether you're a parent reading to a child, or an adult revisiting the tale, The Giving Tree remains a timeless, emotionally resonant experience. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a story that’s as heartwarming as it is thought-provoking.

A lovely read short but meaningful. Great read for your grandchildren

It’s the sweetest story to share with your little ones.

The Giving Tree is a book I remember from my own childhood, and now I’m reading it with my own kids. It’s simple on the surface, but it opens the door to some big, thoughtful conversations — about love, giving, sacrifice, and what it means to take care of someone (or something). My children had different reactions: one felt sad for the tree, the other focused on the boy’s connection to it. That’s the beauty of this story — it leaves room for reflection and discussion, no matter your age. It’s a quiet, powerful book that stays with you. A true classic I’m glad to be passing down.

This is the first time I have ever wrote a review on amazon. However this book moved me to tears and the reaction of my 4 yr old after reading this book to him compelled me to do so... You will find that all of the negative reviewers on this book are disturbed or saddened by this story. However the opinion that this book gives your child a bad message is not quite true... After reading the book to my little boy he asked if we could go and see the tree? I told him that we could go and see a tree like that one. He said "We can climb it and play on it, but we won't make it into a boat, because that's not very nice." I was very warmed that he realised that what the boy was doing was wrong. This led to a discussion about the book and how the boy could return the kindness of the tree. Overall I think this is a beautiful true depiction of how the world can be and allows for great discussion between right and wrong, and feelings.

I must respectfully disagree with those who have said this book is NOT for children. I have taught for nearly a decade, to both young and older children and I have found this particular book very useful and helpful both in message and deed. Children need to understand that their desires, such as demonstrated by the boy, whom many of them will be able to relate to on some level depending on their age, can be selfish, only looking inward rather than outward to others' generosity. It is an excellent teacher of self-reflection for the young and old alike. It makes children think on so many levels and according to their understand and experience of the world to that point. As I have experienced, this is one of those books that sometimes sits and stirs in the sub-concious for many years, with past students coming back saying, "oh my, I didnt realise!" and thanking me for introducing them to this book. Someone once said to me in an academic setting that learning is painful. The responsible adult (parent/ teacher/ guardian/ mentor) teaches all facets of human emotion and behaviours-- not just the ones we would have our children demonstrate themselves, but those we would have them not demonstrate so that they can recognise those negative behaviours in others and at times themselves and correct it according to their conscious. Help build conscientious, empathetic qualities in the little people in your lives and guide them starting with the invaluable message in this book.

Beautiful little book. I've been reading this to my almost 3 year old. I wondered if he was too young to truly take in and understand the messages in the book. Today we walked past a tree stump and he insisted on going back to the stump to let it know he cared about it. Other reviewers have made the point about it also showing selfish behavioural traits in the boy. That it does. But if read in the right way and explained to the child, then if opens the door to understanding lots of different behaviours and the impact that they can have on others. You can use the book as a talking point to open a wider discussion on the negative impact selfishness makes. We also have a book called "Have You Filled A Bucket Today?" We often read both books in the same night and together they open up a wonderful discussion at an early age to the impact of our behaviours on others and how rewarding compassion truly is. I believe my son's response to the tree stump today highlights that.

I love this book, it enables you to have a conversation with your children about selfishness. It is so beautifully written. There are a few reviews that gave it one star, because they thought it was too depressing for young children. Life isn't a bed of roses and there are people out there that only take and never give back. If this allows your child to think about the impact of a persons actions that can only be a good thing. It's through experiences that we teach our children and this book explains a little boy's life experience in way that must parent wouldn't be able to get to the point in such a powerful way. Having four children it allows me to explain to each of them that they should never just take from their siblings but that they should always give as much back, whether it be in time or love or a gift but show people that love you unconditionally that you appreciate what they do for you.

Writing a great children's book, specially for the ages where the adult is the one doing most of the reading, is hard. Either the book is too complicated for the child to understand or too boring or direct for the adult. This is one of those classics where both the child and the adult reader are going to finish the book and think about what they just read. The book goes through the life of a tree and a kid that are forever connected, through what they give to each other. Its a beautiful tale about what is really important in life, something many adults forget as they grow older and work drives everything they do. You can connect a lot of what is in the book with the malaises we see in the world today, so even if it was written over 60 years ago, we're still facing the same issues. All this is written in a way that is easy and simple for the child to understand, with short dialogs, beautiful art and just enough pages to be a great bedtime read. I always love when I get to enjoy the books I read to my kids as much or even more than they do and this is one of those, recommended!

All of my four children were brought up from an early age with "The Giving Tree", this iconic book about selfishness, compassion, love and ultimate detachment. This awesome and hugely didactic book left such a mark on all four of them that today as grownups they look back on it as much as a childhood landmark as a literary and artistic jewel to pass on with care to their own children.

I bought this for my 2 year old daughter and even tho she's so little, she loves the book. This will last us for years, since the story is so timeless

Carinissimo!!

Minha filha é esposa adoraram o livro.