The Giving Tree
Author & Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: Harper and Row
Year of Publication: 1964
Genre: Fiction
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews rating: 3
Summary: This is a book about the relationship between a young boy and a tree. The tree tries to give everything it can to the boy but eventually it runs out of things to give.
Summary of Professional Reviews: Hornbook gave this book a review of 3. They believe that this is a cherished tale and would be great to read in a group setting. They also believe that it is a tale about, "unconditional, selfless love, and likewise condemned as a story of complete codependency."
Review by Kitty Anthony: I believe that this is a touching story of a relationship between boy and tree. While the tree gives all that it can to the boy, eventually the boy stops giving back to the tree by playing with it and climbing on its branches. This is a very simple text about unconditional love. The simple black and white illustrations compliment the text and lead readers to focus on the text itself. There are not many words on each page which makes this book longer than it normally would be. The author uses simple text but the meaning the story conveys will touch the hearts of many.
This book would be useful when teaching… This would be a good book to read to the class as a whole. This book can teach students a lot about relationships and what it means to be in a long term relationship or friendship with someone. The teacher can teach students that both people should put effort into the relationship and one person should not use the other person to get something that they want. They can also teach students how important friendship is and how important it is to share things with one another so that the friendship is an equal effort.
Publisher: Harper and Row
Year of Publication: 1964
Genre: Fiction
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews rating: 3
Summary: This is a book about the relationship between a young boy and a tree. The tree tries to give everything it can to the boy but eventually it runs out of things to give.
Summary of Professional Reviews: Hornbook gave this book a review of 3. They believe that this is a cherished tale and would be great to read in a group setting. They also believe that it is a tale about, "unconditional, selfless love, and likewise condemned as a story of complete codependency."
Review by Kitty Anthony: I believe that this is a touching story of a relationship between boy and tree. While the tree gives all that it can to the boy, eventually the boy stops giving back to the tree by playing with it and climbing on its branches. This is a very simple text about unconditional love. The simple black and white illustrations compliment the text and lead readers to focus on the text itself. There are not many words on each page which makes this book longer than it normally would be. The author uses simple text but the meaning the story conveys will touch the hearts of many.
This book would be useful when teaching… This would be a good book to read to the class as a whole. This book can teach students a lot about relationships and what it means to be in a long term relationship or friendship with someone. The teacher can teach students that both people should put effort into the relationship and one person should not use the other person to get something that they want. They can also teach students how important friendship is and how important it is to share things with one another so that the friendship is an equal effort.