The Giving Tree

Title: The Giving Tree

Author: Shel Silverstein

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Copyright Date: 1986

Pages in Book: 64 pages

Reading Level: 6-8 years

Summary: This is a cute little story about a young boy and his friendship between him and a tree. The tree is always there for the boy, giving him whatever he wants. The boy swings on his branches, sits in his shade, uses branches to build himself a home, and in the end, provides a stump for the now old man to sit upon. The tree loves the boy and gave him the ultimate sacrifice. His stump. It didn’t matter that the tree didn’t have anything to offer him in the end, because all that mattered was that they had a friendship to hold them together.

Reaction: I thought this was a very cute book, and it’s one that has a good message learned. I love how no matter what, the tree is there for him, and that’s what true friendship is. Being there and always going out of your way to help your best friend. This book makes me appreciate the friends that I do have, and the strength of each relationship. No matter who it is, I’m glad that all my friends know that I’m there for them no matter what.

Recommendation: I’d recommend this book to anyone. And if the children are too young to read, then I recommend that their parents read to them. I think it’s a great book, and like I said earlier, there is a great message that is learned from it, and that message is that friendship is always strong, and willing to give all.

Potential Problems/Conflicts: I didn’t have a single problem with this book. It brought me to slight tears, and if a book can do that, then I doubt there’s any way that I could find anything wrong with it.