The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein

Summary: A young boy grows to manhood and old age experiencing the love and generosity of a tree which gives to him without thought of return.

I remember the first time I heard this book. My second grade teacher read it to us in a woodsy area outside of the classroom on a stump of a tree that had been torn down in a recent storm. I was teary eyed. We counted the rings and felt bad for the tree.

The tree gives and gives. This book can teach many lessons. The tree gives the boy everything it can. The tree is unhappy when it has little left for itself but spending time with the boy makes it happy again. All the tree wants is company, but company does not always appreciate gifts, and does not always stay.

Interest Level: ages 2-grade 3
Reading Level: grade 3