The Giving Tree

This week’s pick is ‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein. An absolute classic, it would seem, at least in the USA. (I'm wondering about the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth. Please let me know).

As a non-native English speaker, you can find yourself regressing. You read children’s stories for the first time, long after you left college. By the time I discovered ‘The Giving Tree’, I knew how to tie my own shoe laces. I would go to bed on my own initiative. Copying machines, insurance documents and friends’ weddings had become an established part of my life. Still, this little story left me absolutely shattered.

Check out this animated version, Silverstein is the narrator, which is a nice little extra.

“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy”. Judging from the first few lines, it could be one of those dreadful children’s books that you find in museum stores. Two pinches of environmental awareness, a whiff of social justice but above all: a celebratory ending with a sound moral.

But the Giving Tree is different. The storyline and language are very simple, yet deep. It is sad as hell and provides no easy answers. In a way, I think it is quite similar to many of the classic Grimm stories for children, which were, well, quite grim and morally ambiguous.

Some people seem to think children’s stories should be about fluffy bears and ponies, and I could see the point. A children’s story that features the line “Life is not fun” could seem a bit daunting. But, then again, why not challenge them a bit once in a while? Treat them like small adults instead of cherubs. And who better to turn to than Uncle Shelby? After all, he's the guy who penned ‘Boy named Sue’ for Johnny Cash!

All this being said, I would probably prefer an edition that does not feature this picture of the author on the back cover. Challenging kids with a bit of a strange story is one thing, recurring nightmares are quite another.