The giving tree

The Giving Tree Written by: Shel Silverstein
This gifted book shows the relationship between a tree and a little boy who through the years turns to a man right before the trees very branches. When the boy is young he goes to the tree everyday to swing from her branches, collect her leaves, and eat her apples but as he gets into adolescence he starts to see the tree less and less; only visiting when he needed the tree’s apples to sell in the city for money. The boy didn’t come back until he was a man and then he came to get branches so that he could build a house. The tree was of course, happy to help because she loved him. Seasons passed and he didn’t come around for a long time again. When he came back he was old and really wanted a boat so the tree gave her truck so he could build a boat and sail away. Finally the tree was just stump when the really old man came back but that all the old man needed was a place to sit and the tree was very happy to give him that!
As you may know this is a censored book because of something that I think could very well be true but shouldn’t be censored for. It’s censored because the tree is supposed to symbolize a mother giving her all and the child only taking, not giving anything in return. I could see this story has a representation of that but I don’t think the boy didn’t want to give back; he really didn’t have too much to offer the tree. I would much rather say that the tree giving the boy everything she had isn’t a sign of weakness but more of a strength. It takes a lot to give love the way the tree did; and you simply cannot go as far as the tree did as a human but it’s nice to know that something can have that much love for someone to keep giving and giving! The pictures are simplistic sketches of the boy and the tree making it clear that the real message is in the story itself. If I were a teacher using this book in the classroom I would use it as a browsing book or as a book to use to emphasize how giving to someone is a very special act that should not be taken lightly; such as teaching manors, please and thank you. You could also use this book to look at relationships in a close way and how they can change as the people change!