One of my favorite books growing up was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This was one of my favorite books when I was little for many reasons. One was that it was simple enough for me to read. There were only a couple of pages that had a lot of reading on it and I always felt proud when I felt that I could read an entire book. Another reason that I love the book is that I always appreciate it no matter what age I am. Even looking back on it, I have always gained something every time I read it and the relate ability no matter what the age.
When I was little, I understood the friendship between the tree and the little boy because I had a favorite tree that my brother and I would climb every time we could. Then as the book progresses I can relate to the writing of the initials of his first love on the tree, the fact that he becomes too busy to relax around the tree, and then at the end where all he wants to do is relax and have a seat.
I think that this would be brilliant in a classroom because there are many lessons that one could teach with this book. One is time passing. How things change. The tree still longed for the old days when the little boy would swing from his branches and eat his apples; however, the little boy was growing up. So therefore, I think change with time passing could be a good lesson.
Another lesson is to think of others before you. The tree would always help the boy whenever he came and he never thought of himself first. When the boy needed money, the tree gave him his apples. When the boy needed wood, the tree gave him his branches. Even though the tree was unhappy, he believe in giving to others first. Then at the end of the story, the tree realized that he was happy, even though he in fact had lost almost everything, becoming just a stump. I think the children could benefit learning to think of others and sharing. That there is more to life than just yourself.
I also believe that this would be a great book for children who are learning to read. It is simple enough that one could sit down and read it repeatedly. There is a mix of challenging and easy words and the lessons that come from the content of the book never gets old. Like I said before I honestly get something new from reading it every time, and I am twenty-one years old and have read it a countless number of times.
http://www.amazon.com/Giving-Tree-Shel-Silverstein/dp/0060256656
I agree completely! This has been a book that I was read to in first grade and will never forget it! I, too, related to the book because I had an apple tree that my brothers, neightbors, and I had made into a club house and we would constantly be climbing in it and eating the apples. It became a hide-out for us that which the tree became a member of. I think you really have some good lesson plans that revolve around the book concerning changes in life and how to cope with change. This book I think can relate to almost every individual no matter how old and what they are watching change whether it be a parent watching a child, a child watching a parent, a pet, or families changing. This book really touched my heart and though it's hard to admit, has made me shed a couple tears.
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