Shel Silverstein (1930–1999)

I LOVED this book. I still love it. I have my original copy from when I was a kid. I used to hide it under my pillow at night, so after my parents tucked me in and closed the door I could keep reading into the night. It has severely affected me. I love poetry. I love dark humor. I love how things don't always work out. It's wicked. It's delightful. And the drawings are so peculiar but approachable, if that's the right way to describe it. Hooray for A Light in the Attic.

"The baby bat show more screamed out in fright 'Turn on the dark I'm afraid of the light!'"

:D show less

Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree" showcases the themes of love, sacrifice, and human relationships. The story follows a tree that selflessly gives everything to the boy. Her apples, shade, branches, and even her trunk. Silverstein's repetitive phrasing, specifically "And the tree was happy" evoke both warmth and sorrow, emphasizing the contrast between unconditional giving and quiet loss. The illustrations, done in Silverstein’s signature black-and-white line art, contribute to the show more story’s emotional weight. The lack of color allows the focus to remain on the characters and their relationship. The tree’s gradual diminishment visually parallels the passage of time and the extent of its sacrifice, making the illustrations a critical part of the storytelling rather than an embellishment. Although the book is often seen as a touching story of unconditional love, it has also sparked debate about its underlying message. I've seen that some interpret the tree's self-sacrifice as a cautionary tale about toxic relationships or the dangers of self-neglect. While others still view it as a story about generosity and the purest form of giving. I think that this debate between the underlying message between the story being true or not is a perfect example of why picture books can still be for older kids/adults. As a kid reading this book, I remember just feeling sad for the tree because she gave everything to the boy, and he took it without hesitation. Granted as a kid I probably didn't know what a toxic relationship was, but now rereading this as an adult I can definitely see that there could be a dual message to this story. show less

The sixth grade class loved this, especially the parts about their parents and teacher. Never before had I heard kids blurt out "Noooo! Don't do that!" so many times while reading a book. There was also much laughing and looking back at the teacher with an expression of "Do you dare me?"

The only letter I didn't read was G, even though most of the class probably knew the word. I told them to get their own copy of the book if they want to know what that letter is for. I also fudged J and said show more J is for a joke from the sixties that isn't funny nowadays. They found that pretty funny. By the end they were analyzing the meaning behind the words and trying to outguess each other on what the next page would be about. show less

A children’s tale glorifying an abusive relationship with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer

Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” is often celebrated as a classic of children’s literature, yet, reading it now, I struggle to see the appeal. Where contemporaries in the genre – such as Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” – bring subtext, wit, and magic, Silverstein’s approach here is relentlessly didactic.

The narrative, centring on a boy’s lifelong (abusive) show more relationship with a perpetually self-sacrificing tree, bludgeons the reader with its message of unconditional giving to the point of tedium. “The Giving Tree” has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

The story’s moral simplicity feels not only outdated but, frankly, rather joyless. One leaves the tale with a sense of manipulation, not enlightenment. This might suffice for those in search of finger-wagging parables, but for those yearning for depth or nuance, there are far better options in the children’s canon.

One star out of five.

Blog | Goodreads | Hardcover | Facebook | Twitter | Mastodon | Instagram | Threads | StoryGraph | LibraryThing | Medium | Matrix | Tumblr

Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam show less