Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
I try to like this book or find its merit but I keep coming back to the fact that I hate the message and can't see beyond that.
As a kid, I loved this book. As an adult, I see some issues with it. The boy uses the tree his whole life and nearly kills the tree along with himself.
The first book I read all by myself from cover to cover.
It's a very effective book, and though I knew in broad strokes what the story was, reading it for the first time to my kids I almost didn't make it through. It very much captures something about raising children that children themselves might not get - but a parent will.
I have to agree with my friend Kristen on this one--I have just never liked it, and it has always left me with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sacrificing yourself, giving parts of yourself away for others, is not love. And such an unbalanced relationship...It seems like a bad message to children to me. Since almost everyone else I know loves it, I do sometimes wonder if maybe I'm missing something.
This made me emotional. I'm not sure whether the relationship between the boy and tree is supposed to be seen positively or negatively. The tree offers gifts without the boy explicitly asking for them, but the boy never thanks the tree and takes and takes until all that is left is the trunk. Depressing, but open to interpretation which is impressive given how short the story is.
OH MY GODS.
Leave it to a children's book to make me cry.
The boy was a shithead who needed to be punched in the face, for the record.
Leave it to a children's book to make me cry.
The boy was a shithead who needed to be punched in the face, for the record.
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
