We Need to Talk About ‘The Giving Tree’
Like many new parents, when our first child was born, we were delighted to receive gift boxes of tiny pajama sets, monogrammed baby blankets, and lots and lots of children’s books. We received seven copies of “Goodnight Moon” alone. By the time our second and third children arrived, we were proud owners of multiple copies of “The Giving Tree.” The Shel Silverstein book is a classic, and we were excited to share it with our kids — we thought it would be like revisiting an old friend from our own childhoods. But when we read it, something felt wrong.
Read the whole story: The New York Times
Comments
Our daugther at 3 and 1 half brought this book with her from her first adoptive home. I rarely have strong feelings about books: I hated this book from the start. It seemed to suggest that one gives and gives and gives. As a woman I did not feel I needed such advice. I am a psychologist who as a professor and a mother and a wife and a sister and an in-law gave and gave and gave. I still am giving and I’m OK with that but let’s not be rubbing it in! Thanks for the chance to comment on this book.