The Giving Tree
I'm sure I read this book as a child but when I rediscovered it, some time around lil'daddy's birth, I couldn't recall any lucid memories of it. After Counting Blessings and I read it, we both decided that we would not actively expose the boy to it. I guess we weren't sure it's appropriateness for our young boy and decided to take a cautious approach. At the time, I didn't think I'd feel comfortable reading the story to him. -reading about the insatiable leech of a boy and the selfless tree that allows itself to be completely consumed. Neither was a model I wanted the boy to emulate.
I don't want to totally bash the story because I, in fact, like it. I just couldn't understand why it seemed to be lauded as such a great children's book. When considering the book for child consumption there is just something about the exaggeration of the underlying 'truth' of using others and being used up that doesn't seem toddler-age appropriate. Today, lil'daddy saw the "The Giving Tree" on the shelf at Border Books.
We typically go to a book store a couple times a week to peruse the children's section and see what's new. We take a few books, sit down, read them, put them back, find a couple more, sit, read and so forth. Today, lil'daddy included "The Giving Tree" as one of our books to read. He read it front to back on his own as I watched his reaction. As the tree began to loose it's branches and trunk, lil'daddy's reading became more and more pensive. His facial expression was becoming more and more quizzical. His body began to lean away from the book. I thought he was not going to want to finish but he kept reading through the remaining pages. At the end, I quietly awaited his reaction. Looking a little disturbed, he calmly tells me, "I don't like that book." When I asked him why, on cue he replies, "because the tree was happy... but not really".
That was almost a direct quote from the book. I don't think I could have answered my own question so succinctly. I don't think I could have wanted him to answer differently either. My boy continues to amaze me!
I don't want to totally bash the story because I, in fact, like it. I just couldn't understand why it seemed to be lauded as such a great children's book. When considering the book for child consumption there is just something about the exaggeration of the underlying 'truth' of using others and being used up that doesn't seem toddler-age appropriate. Today, lil'daddy saw the "The Giving Tree" on the shelf at Border Books.
We typically go to a book store a couple times a week to peruse the children's section and see what's new. We take a few books, sit down, read them, put them back, find a couple more, sit, read and so forth. Today, lil'daddy included "The Giving Tree" as one of our books to read. He read it front to back on his own as I watched his reaction. As the tree began to loose it's branches and trunk, lil'daddy's reading became more and more pensive. His facial expression was becoming more and more quizzical. His body began to lean away from the book. I thought he was not going to want to finish but he kept reading through the remaining pages. At the end, I quietly awaited his reaction. Looking a little disturbed, he calmly tells me, "I don't like that book." When I asked him why, on cue he replies, "because the tree was happy... but not really".
That was almost a direct quote from the book. I don't think I could have answered my own question so succinctly. I don't think I could have wanted him to answer differently either. My boy continues to amaze me!
posted by Big_Daddy | 11:49 PM
3 Comments:
-oh btw... We purchased "Eat My Dust!: Henry Ford's First Race" and "It's Snowing! It's Snowing!: Winter Poems" The first is a Random House, Step into Reading, Step 3, reading on your own book. The other is a HarperCollins I Can Read, Stage 3, reading alone book. He can read both on his own with great comprehension.
After Border Books, we headed to Starbucks to enjoy our new books over a fresh cup of chocolate milk.
Of the Two, he absolutely loves the Henry Ford book! The poems, i guess, are something new for him. They read significantly different than the Seussian rhymes and rhythms that he's used to. I think what really excited him about the book of poems was the Table of Contents! (Of all his books, only a very small percentage have a Table of Contents) lol go figure!
He's amazing. What a blessing.
I second your reactions to The Giving Tree. It has a spot on the list of 'kid's books that are not really good books for kids' along with The Rainbow Fish, which I affectionately refer to as the Children's Communist Manifesto.
One memory I have from grade school was being in 8th grade and the Giving Tree used in a homily during school Mass. The younger grades werw gathered around the sanctuary and the priest was asking the kids why we would have read that book as part of the homily. My little brother, a first grader, piped up and said, "Because the tree is like Jesus! Jesus gave his life for us!" I prefer that spin on it--Christ-like self-giving.
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