If you’ve ever walked through the children’s section of a library or bookstore, you’ve definitely stumbled upon a book called The Giving Tree. You might have even read it. It was written by Sheldon Allan Silverstein—better known as Shel Silverstein. Born on September 25th, 1930 in Chicago Illinois, Shel Silverstein was a man of many talents. He was an artist through and through, and although his most famous work is The Giving Tree, he was also an incredible American writer, songwriter, cartoonist, and musician.
Children’s books are a particularly interesting genre of literature. They need to be simple enough for children to understand, yet not entirely dull. Authors have to find a way to fit even just a little bit of learning into a book with minimal text and an abundance of colorful illustrations.
With a quick Google search you can easily come across a list of what appears to be the most popular children’s books. Even though most children’s books seem nonsensical, they can still teach children valuable lessons. Books as whimsical as Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat have bits of knowledge to share with their audience, like the importance of responsibility and honesty. Other times, the overarching themes might be easier to discern. Books like Oliver Jeffers’s The Day the Crayons Quit teach a clear lesson on the importance of empathy, inclusivity, and valuing your own well-being. While children’s books may all appear wildly different, these books all aim to teach children important lessons at the end of the day. Unfortunately, this is an often overlooked constant throughout all children’s books.
Among these famous children’s books is The Giving Tree. Although popular today, the book received a mixed reception upon first publication. The main criticism? It was too sad to be a children’s book.
The book follows two characters, a boy and a female tree. When the boy was a child, he would play with the tree, eat her apples, and rested in her shade. She was happy because the boy loved her and spent time with her. However, as he grew older, he visited less. When he did visit the tree, he only shared his problems, expecting the tree to provide him with the solutions. The tree would give him parts of herself–apples, branches, and even her trunk–in order to help him. Eventually, the boy left her with nothing but her stump. When the boy finally returns to him as an old man, he uses her stump to rest. This caused the tree to be happy again, even though the boy was never shown any gratitude.
The relationship between the boy and the tree was like a parasitic relationship. Readers tended to dislike the boy for taking everything from the tree without showing any appreciation. This frustration is amplified when the tree simply allows the boy’s behavior without complaining. “It’s obvious that the boy takes the tree for granted because she’s been a constant in the boy’s life for so long,” said Ngozi Ihesiaba ’26.
My interpretation was like that of many others, that the tree and the boy shared an abusive relationship. The tree craved the boy’s attention so much that she was willing to go through drastic lengths to keep him satisfied, no matter how much it hurt her in the end.
The tree, in this sense, was like a mother. Many of us don’t realize it, but our parents go through extraordinary lengths to protect us and care for us. The problem is that most of the time, we don’t even know of the immense amount of sacrifices that they had to make for us.
The tree was trapped in this cycle of relentless giving and taking, wanting only a bit of attention at the end. This wish for attention from the boy is what keeps the tree happy after every time she gives a bit of herself away to him. She wants to continue to give him what he wants even if it’s destroying her at the end. This is why when she ends up giving away her trunk to the boy and he makes a boat to sail away she’s no longer happy. She realizes that she has nothing left to give to the boy and that he’s no longer dependent on her and can just leave her. The tree is only happy when the boy is with her and still needs her.
The Giving Tree, although sad, is a beautiful story about sacrifice and the importance of gratefulness. It’s unlike any other children’s book. Other children’s books usually tend to be lighthearted such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. However, even though the tree ends up feeling happy with the boy at the end of the book, there’s a sense of dissatisfaction within the readers. The tree had given everything for nothing in return and still remained happy. This ending really sets Silverstein apart from other writers as he’s unafraid to leave his readers frustrated just so he could teach a lasting lesson.
This feeling of injustice doesn’t sit right with anybody, especially not the young audience of The Giving Tree. “The Giving Tree was a really powerful book as a kid, but it’s even more so now. I think it serves as a warning not to give too much, and to have boundaries.” said Jack Lau ’26.
There was such a strong distaste for the ending of The Giving Tree amongst many readers, that Topher Payne, an American playwright and screenwriter, made a parody ending for children’s book, calling it ‘The Tree Who Set Healthy Boundaries.’ Rather than having the tree give away every part of her to the boy, the tree in the parody learns to say no and like the title suggests, set healthy boundaries between her and the boy. The tree expresses her discontent with the way the boy was just using her without caring for her. This ending is far happier than the original, with the boy even bringing his children to care for the tree. However, The Giving Tree wasn’t supposed to have a happy ending. Instead, it was meant to leave the readers dissatisfied, as this feeling of injustice resonates a lot more than just a happy ending.
Many of Silverstein’s other children’s books are similar to The Giving Tree in this sense. Silverstein doesn’t go the conventional way to make a lesson stick. Instead, he goes for inconvenient plots to make readers think about the actual meanings more.
Other books by Silverstein that follow this pattern include A Light in the Attic, The Missing Piece, and Falling Up. These books, although not as popular as The Giving Tree, still teach children valuable lessons.
On first glance, A Light in the Attic appears to be quite unusual. The characters and situations are all very strange, but the book offers very important lessons. With the boy who decided to smash plates so he wouldn’t have to wash them anymore, the baby-sitter who thought her job was to sit on babies, and the countless other characters, this book shows the importance of embracing creativity and imagination. These characters show how important it is to be able to think outside the box and to find humor in everyday situations.
Then there’s The Missing Piece, a story about a circle that’s missing a piece of itself. The circle rolls around the world searching for a piece that could fill that missing spot, but none of the pieces that it encounters are quite right. This circle is slowly able to enjoy the little things in life while trying to find its missing piece. However, once it finds that piece, the circle is unable to enjoy the little things as it now rolls too fast, leading to the circle letting the other piece go and becoming content being incomplete. This teaches the important lesson of independence and acceptance. While being incomplete might have a negative connotation, it’s not completely a bad thing, as the circle is shown to have worked on itself throughout the story. Ultimately, this teaches readers to become more independent and self-reliant.
Falling Up is a collection of poems and cartoons filled with both humor and absurdity. These poems cover a wide variety of stories of different characters on silly adventures. This book suggests that we, the readers, should look at the world from different perspectives and embrace life even when it becomes unpredictable and absurd. Similarly to Silverstein’s other books, this one argues that we shouldn’t try to take life too seriously and find humor and enjoyment in the little things.
The absurdity of the plots only help to further embed these memories in his readers’ minds.
Although Shel Silverstein is most notably known for being a writer for children’s books, his career has also expanded to other fields in his lifetime, as a songwriter, playwright, and cartoonist. Much like his books, his songs often carry the same playful, humorous tones while still touching on deeper themes about life, individuality, and finding joy in imperfection.
One of the most famous songs that Silverstein wrote was ‘A Boy Named Sue.’ written in 1969. Sung by Johnny Cash, this song became a huge hit and reached #1 on the country charts at its time. The song followed the story of a boy who fights with his father for giving him such a feminine name, which led him to be teased. This song even won a Grammy Award for the Best Country Song in 1970.
Some of Silverstein’s other famous songs include ‘The Cover of the Rolling Stone,’ which was performed by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show in 1973. This song was about a band’s wish to be featured on the cover of the popular music magazine. ‘Sylvia’s Mother,’ another song performed by the same band, is about a man’s unrequited love and his efforts to reach out to the mother of his former girlfriend.
All of these songs showcase Silverstein’s unique writing style—blending humor, emotion, and storytelling—a style that shines through no matter what medium he uses.
Silverstein also wrote several plays such as The Devil and Billy Markham in 1979; it was first published as a poem, which was later adapted into a play. This play tells the story of a man who made a deal with the devil; it is filled with dark humor and other philosophical musings. The play even ran on Broadway for a short period of time.
In addition to creating all the illustrations for his children’s books, Silverstein also contributed cartoons to magazines, where his work first started gaining wider recognition. His cartoons, much like his book illustrations, are known for their witty, exaggerated style, often blending humor with deeper, more thoughtful messages.
At the end of the day, Shel Silverstein’s work reminds us that not everything has to be polished, predictable, or perfect to be meaningful. Whether it’s through his bittersweet songs or thought-provoking stories, Silverstein constantly challenges readers to laugh at the absurdity of life and to find beauty even in imperfection. His willingness to blend humor with sadness, and simplicity with complexity, is what makes his writing like a breath of fresh air in a world that often tries to rush towards neat, happy endings. Through his unique approach to storytelling, Silverstein used absurd plots and humor to teach valuable life lessons to his many readers. His works continue to inspire and resonate with audiences, urging them to embrace creativity, to challenge conventional thinking, and to find meaning in life’s unexpected moments.
Whether it’s through his bittersweet songs or thought-provoking stories, Silverstein constantly challenges readers to laugh at the absurdity of life and to find beauty even in imperfection.