The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite books of all times. This was shared by Mrs. Elliott a while ago. Basically the story revolves around a boy and an apple tree. Year after year, the little boy comes to the tree and asks for something from it. The tree, without any complaints, selflessly sacrfices itself in order to make the boy happy.

I don't necessarily agree with the "devoted"love of the apple tree. The most important message I got out of this books is this: when we face our loved ones who are ungrateful, like the boy in the story, do we need to dedicate so much of ourselves to them to a point that we have sacrificed everything we have for them.  I feel like at times love like this can be harmful to the person providing it (the tree) and the person receiving it (the boy). In our society, if one loves oneself more than others, then that person is often labeled as being selfish.

In the final scene of the book, we see the little boy, now an old man, sit on the trunk of the dying tree. We don't know if the boy is thankful or regretful. The heartfelt writing and illustrations allow the readers to reexamine what the "right" kind of love may be. Although the book can be read in 5 minutes, it is worth rereading over and over again.