The Giving Tree
Readers rate it 4.2 (956 on Hardcover)
57 pages · Released 1964 · Harper & Row
Content report card
The Giving Tree parent’s guide: what’s inside
Violence
Language
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
A note for parents
The Giving Tree is a beloved classic parable about generosity, sacrifice, and unconditional love told through the relationship between a boy and a tree. While the story celebrates selfless giving, it also contains melancholy and bittersweet themes as the tree gradually gives everything she has, which may prompt deeper conversations about healthy boundaries with older children. The simple, poetic text and iconic illustrations make it accessible to young readers while offering layers of meaning for reflection.
Analyzed by AI · 1 month ago
Read it with your kids?
Rate it and suggest an age to help other parents.
From the publisher
From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans. "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy.... From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans. "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. The Giving Tree is a meaningful gift for milestone events such as graduations, birthdays, and baby showers. Shel Silverstein's incomparable career as a bestselling children's book author and illustrator began with Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. He is also the creator of picture books including A Giraffe and a Half, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?, The Missing Piece, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, and the perennial favorite The Giving Tree, and of classic poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, Every Thing On It, Don't Bump the Glump!, and Runny Babbit plus Runny Babbit Returns.
Shelved under
- Children's poetry, American
- Fiction
- Humorous poetry
- Juvenile fiction
- Latin language materials
- Trees
- Generosity
- Boys
- Love
- Sacrifice
- Arboles
- Ficción juvenil
Share this guide
ISBN 9780060256654 · Harper & Row