The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
A book that lends itself to a variety of interpretations and observations.
If you have had a chance to read this wonderful book, you would know that it is about a special friendship between a tree and a boy. I read it by myself and thought that it is a beautiful book. In particular, I liked the tree’s character for being selfless, deriving joy by giving her best friend anything he asked for. I did not quite think that it would be even more thought provoking when read with groups of children.
I host a Young Readers’ Club on Zoom. Different batches meet two times a week to explore and discover a variety of books. Thankfully, Epic subscription comes in handy in times such as these. A blogpost on the Epic website showcasing books on kindness caught my attention and I realized that we hadn’t read any book on kindness. I picked The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Different batches comprising mainly of 7–10 year olds observed the illustrations and read the text carefully before coming up with diverse points of view.
They enjoyed reading about how the tree and the boy loved spending time together. Once the turning point in the story- where the boy begins to lose interest in the tree and moves on to worldly pleasures, several questions came up from the group. Each one tried answering each one’s questions, sometimes even challenging someone’s point of view. Here are few snippets from those sessions. I am in awe how much children can observe and think, if given a chance.
Why is the tree willing to always give?
When the story moves on and the boy gets older- Why are there four legs behind the tree when there are only two character so far in the story-only the tree and the boy? Could it be a friend? Could it be a spouse?
Why is the tree happy to give away apples? One beautiful response was that otherwise the apples will go waste.
While the boy played hide and seek with the tree and hid close by, behind a few rocks- Why did the boy choose a spot that a tree being so tall can see? Because he was innocent and did not think of it or did he want to be found?
When the tree gives wood for the house- Some said, that the boy wanted to keep the tree close to him or perhaps the tree wanted to be with the boy. Others asked, “By giving its wood, wouldn’t the tree be hurt? Wouldn’t a branch die?”
Does the boy care for the tree?
One section argued that the boy did not care for the tree as much as the tree did. They said what the boy was doing was wrong. The other section disagreed and argued that the boy cared for the tree- the author is saying that it is true as the stump shows the heart with the boy and the tree. They remained friends.
The sessions concluded with the happy thought that when it comes to reading a book and understanding what the author wants to tell the reader, there is no right or wrong. Different points of view are the different sides of the same coin. It depends on where you stand and how you see something.
