About the book
An apple tree and a boy are the two main characters of Shel Silverstein's picture book, which he wrote and illustrated in spare black-and-white drawings. As a child, the boy eats the tree's apples, swings from her branches and slides down her trunk, and the tree is happy. As he grows older he wants more from her, and she keeps giving. Silverstein struggled to place the manuscript: an editor at Simon & Schuster rejected it, finding it too sad for children yet too simple for adults. Librarian Elizabeth Bird has described it as among the most divisive titles in children's literature, since readers split over whether the bond shows selfless love or abuse.
Kaci Lambe Kai says the story breaks her heart every time, and she cried all the way through reading it to her five-year-old nephew.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Kaci Lambe Kai (Writer, Photographer, Designer)
I cry every time I read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. That story breaks my heart. I recently read it to my nephew (then five at the time) and I cried the whole time.
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