Book Summary: The Giving Tree

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The Giving Tree is a book written in 1964 and still popular today. The book has simplistic pictures that are in no way fancy and feature only black and white though the cover mainly green. This green book is recognizable for the eye and has not changed its looks since being published. The Giving Tree follows a boy from being a child to being an old man who has nothing but the tree. The tree is spoke of as a female and nurturing to the boy through his life. As the main characters are the tree and that boy there are no other characters. As a young boy who the main character and name is not mentioned he spends every day with the tree doing various activities. “he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns, he would climb her trunk and …show more content…

As the boy gets into teen years he begins to take from the tree and the tree loves the boy so without question the tree first gives up time enjoyed by the boy. When the boy is too big to play with the tree he comes asking her for money. The tree does not have any money but she offers her apples for him to sell because he says money will make him happy. Again the tree is left alone, but happy she helped the boy. The next time the boy goes to see the tree the tree “shook with joy and said come, boy, climb my trunk… and be happy” (1965) showing the boy she wanted him to be happy and enjoy time spent. She missed him very much, but he now was around his early thirties and needed a house claiming it would make him happy. The tree offers her branches to the boy to build a house, he cuts them down and leaves her again. Again the tree is joyous she gave to make him happy. Year after year passes and the boy comes back and he cuts her down for a boat to take him away to happiness and the tree left but a stump. When the boy comes back the last time she has nothing to give the man as he used every bit of her. Lastly he sits down and rests with the tree and the tree is happy to have

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