'The Giving Tree' celebrates its 50th anniversary
'The Giving Tree' centers on the relationship between a boy and a very generous tree.
'The Giving Tree' is by Shel Silverstein.
The classic children鈥檚 book 鈥淭he Giving Tree鈥� by Shel Silverstein is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The picture book follows a young boy who loves a tree. When the boy is younger, he eats the tree鈥檚 apples and plays on her branches, but when the boy grows into a man, he asks more and more of the tree.
writer Beth Amos notes that 鈥渢his isn't a colorful, fun-filled, happy-themed book.鈥�
Publisher HarperCollins is releasing a new edition of the book for the 50th anniversary (it was first published on Oct. 7, 1964, according to ) which includes a CD of Silverstein reading the book. In addition, the book was released in e-book form earlier this year, the first work by Silverstein to be available in that format, according to the .
For the anniversary, writers Anna Holmes and Rivka Galchen recently debated the true message of the book.
鈥淎 passionate and very vocal minority of reviewers on sites like Amazon and Goodreads seems to find the story an affront not just to literature but to humanity itself,鈥� Holmes wrote. 鈥淏oy meets adoring, obliging apple tree and eventually, through a combination of utter impotence and blatant manipulation, makes off with her branches, her trunk and, of course, the literal fruits of her labor.鈥澛�
Meanwhile, Gavchen wrote, 鈥溾�橳he Giving Tree鈥欌�� is a great book鈥�. The boy and the tree are both 鈥榝lawed,鈥� and in the most old-fashioned way, their flaws, which are also their characters, determine their fates. The sadness one feels in reading this book so full of the word 鈥榟appy鈥� is not unlike the sadness of knowing just how it鈥檚 going to end up for poor Oedipus. 鈥楾he Giving Tree鈥� is in part a disturbing tale of unconditional love, in part a tender tale of the monsters that we are.鈥�