joyfulgirl91's Full Review: Shel Silverstein - The Giving Tree
"Once there was a tree ... and she loved a little boy."
I think I am supposed to love Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree". Although my feelings toward the book are complicated, in many ways, I do love it. Mothers have read this story of love and sacrifice out loud since 1964, so who am I to raise a critical eyebrow?
Actually, I'm in good company. The plot and message of "The Giving Tree" are among the most analyzed in children's literature. Discussions about whom The Tree and The Boy might symbolize and what aspect of the human condition their relationship might be a metaphor for abound in scholarly papers. I am not the first reader to feel shocked by The Boy's selfishness as he strips The Tree of all she has, nor am I the first to identify with The Tree's willingness to sacrifice her entire body for the happiness of someone she loves unconditionally.
"But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone."
The plot can be summarized quickly. In the beginning, The Tree and The Little Boy are playmates. He swings from her branches, sleeps in her shade, and eats apples. As he grows older, he loses interest in this type of play and rarely visits The Tree. When he does, his demands become more sophisticated. He asks The Tree for money, and she tells him to sell her apples. Later, he asks for a house, and she tells him to cut off her branches to build one. Finally, she offers her entire trunk for The Boy to chop down and build a boat to sail far away from everyone. Eventually, The Boy returns (now a wizened old man) and says he needs nothing but a place to rest. The Tree invites him to sit on her stump, which is all that is left of her, and then she is happy.
Shel Silverstein's line drawings accompany the simple text, but the whimsical and absurd humor I loved as a child reading "The Light in the Attic" is missing. Both words and pictures are wistful and sometimes heart-breaking. Watching the once majestic tree whittled down to a mere stump actually brings a lump to my throat. Some readers compare The Tree's love for The Boy to a mother's love for her child, but the character seems more like an unrequited lover to me. When The Boy returns after his long absences, Silverstein says "The Tree shook with joy" or is "so happy she could hardly speak". She pleads with The Boy in a desperate whisper to spend time with her, and if he must leave, to take another piece of her with him. The Boy never thanks her; he only comes back to her when life doesn't go his way and he wants to know if she can solve his next problem.
Having been an unrequited lover myself, I'm somewhat uncomfortable with this premise as a children's story.
"'Come Boy,' she whispered, 'come and play.'"
Well, so what? Poor me! I'm also uncomfortable with death by smallpox as a theme for a child's singing and dancing game, but I cheerfully taught my daughter "Ring Around The Rosy". Since becoming a full-time student, I have approximately three hours per weekday to spend with my toddler. I don't want to waste them over-thinking literary themes - at least not while she is still awake - I just want the time to be as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible for both of us. As far as the two year old is concerned, "the Green Book" is the bee's knees. She likes drawing in it with her crayolas. She likes the huge photograph of Silverstein's homely visage on the back cover (she points at him, kisses him, and lovingly coos "Shel"). She loves the simple images of The Tree and her apples. At night, she snuggles in the blankets and gets drowsier and drowsier as I recite the lyrical prose, almost from memory. When I'm on top of my mommy game, this book makes me feel like Emma Thompson delivering Shakespeare. Read aloud, The Giving Tree is lovely poetry.
"I wish that I could give you something ... but I have nothing left."
I wish I were on top of my mommy game every night. I'm not. My single most pressing problem with this book is that as I read to my sleepy toddler in her darkened room, cuddling her freshly bathed body and lulled by the white noise of her humidifier, I get drowsier and drowsier as well. It's a long read compared to the other books she enjoys, and the somber theme makes it feel exhausting to finish. The phrasing is tedious to wrap my tongue around because Silverstein uses run-on sentences to express The Tree's breathless eagerness to offer all she has to give. Many pages have only part of a sentence, and it is tiring to make the fragments flow together in the rhythmic way Silverstein intends while turning pages. I am ashamed to admit how many times I've skipped sections.
"'Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.' And the boy did. And The Tree was happy."
I look forward to the day when my daughter will discuss this book with me. I will ask her what she learned from it, if she thinks the characters are symbolic, the plot metaphorical, and if she plans to read it to her own children. Until then, I'm not thrilled with the content of "The Giving Tree", but I'm much less concerned about the moral than I am often not in the mood for those long sentences with no room to stop to catch my breath. I accidentally on purpose left this book at Grandma's house, and I hope it takes my little Shel-lover a few days to notice. I could use a break from The Green Book.
My mixed feelings do not sway me from recommending this book to parents and children. Art is often uncomfortable. As a teaching tool, the possibilities are as endless as the imagination. I believe many children could read this alone by age six, but even a 28-year-old child like me can find the story moving and thought provoking. There is no denying the stark beauty and power of the tale, and my life is richer for knowing it. When my daughter asks for Shel again, I will retrieve it and read it out loud, maybe several times if that is what makes her happy. I love her unconditionally, and a fifteen minute read is nothing when I would give her my apples, my leaves, my branches, my trunk, my sap, my roots, and all the earth below.
Thanks to dramastef and haddassachana, the lives of illiterate children can become enriched by childrens' book reviewers on Epinions. Both have my admiration for channeling this community's energy and talent toward something wonderful.
The Giving Tree by Shel SilversteinThe apple tree gives and gives to her cherished friend, a boy who thoughtlessly takes and takes until one is a stum...More at Diapers.com
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