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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't expect for it to be so sad.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Shel Silverstein. This is such a classic! I think we have two copies. I have read it to everyone of my three kids and to their classmates when I've been invited to read to them. I still get all teary-eyed toward the end. So much tenderness is expressed. Such a nice message about loyalty and unconditional love. I've read the negative reviews; yes, I know the boy was selfish. Maybe you just have to be a parent to understand it?
This book made me viscerally anxious. My first read was that it concerned motherhood, with the boy taking all from his mother without a care, and the mother still claiming to be happy despite not being so. The internet added another read, of human relationships with, and exploitation of, the environment. I hoped this was an intentionally moral story, then discovered the author worked for Playboy and claimed the story “had no message.” Does he just think this is what a man is entitled to from a woman?
I've been reading this since I can't even remember! And I am sure that I will continue to read. And read it to my children.
I don't know how I got by for this long without reading this story. The minimalist story leaves a lot to interpret and has inspired all kinds of discourse about relationships between friends, children and parents, human and nature, and more.