Comments on: such sweet sorrow

By: kate

kate — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:02:22 +0000

Hmm, I can’t stand this book, for reasons that have been mentioned (glorifying the tree’s giving away all of itself to someone who doesn’t appear to appreciate it much, never asking for or receiving anything in return, etc.) I haven’t read it in a long time, though, so maybe I would feel differently reading it again, this time as a mother of 3.

I’m currently enrolled at a Marist university (in Spain) and they have a whole series of paintings based on this book up on the walls along a corridor– and I think at the end there was something in the painting that made a reference to Christ (I don’t remember what it was.) I don’t know what Silverstein’s intentions were (though I’m guessing he’s Jewish, so probably not that) but one could certainly very easily read it as an allegory in that way, as well.

By: yoganaught

yoganaught — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:54:34 +0000

I can’t get through I Love You Forever without tears. My 2 1/2 year old likes it when I sing it to him. I can’t even describe the book to people without crying–just the premise gets to me. Great post!

By: canape

canape — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:09:11 +0000

I can’t make it through “Guess How Much I Love You” or even freaking “Snuggle Puppy” without blubbering.

“Barnyard Dance” is one I can get through without bawling. That’s about it though. I just love having the opportunity to read to my child. That alone makes me weepy.

By: Kim the Midwife

Kim the Midwife — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:17:14 +0000

If I read it often, I can desensitize a little, but every time I pick it up again, I cry. Then my little girl asks why the man’s nose is so big and I’m fixed.

I am also torn on the message, the codependency. But I like what Mia said about them just being themselves in the end.

It IS a beautiful, confusing beautiful work.

By: Mia

Mia — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:48:46 +0000

I *love* The Giving Tree — to me, it’s about the unwavering love and support a parent gives to a child — and how in the end, if you’re lucky, you reach a point with your children where you can both just be yourselves. Nothing to give, nothing to take, just to *be*. I think it’s beautiful.

The other two that make me cry every time are “The Runaway Bunny” and — a new favorite — “You are my Miracle.” I found “You are my Miracle” a few years ago at Christmastime, and it literally had me bawling. I highly, *highly* recommend it for any new or expecting parent, as a Christmas gift. There is another one called “You are my I Love You” which isn’t Christmas themed, but not *quite* as tear-jerking.

“I am your parent, you are my child.
I am your quiet place, you are my wild …”

http://www.amazon.com/You-Miracle-Maryann-Cusimano-Love/dp/0399240373/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product

By: Kyla

Kyla — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:46:36 +0000

I love it. Love, love it. I used to read it to BubTar in-utero. I was a hormonal glutton for punishment, because the three I read to him regularly were The Giving Tree, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Love You Forever. Sob, sob.

By: Ally

Ally — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:38:59 +0000

That’s a great book, but I agree that it is difficult to read it aloud. Our copy is in Spanish, which helps, since it creates a little buffer while my mind translates it into English. I do agree, though, that the story is somehow flawed. It is sacrificial love but is made ugly somehow by the boy not recognizing and expressing gratitude for the gifts he’s received. Some days I feel as a Mama I AM the giving tree, with my limbs all ripped off for children who forget to say thank you.

By: Moondance

Moondance — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:46:46 +0000

The book makes me feel emplty. The tree gave everything of herself, and the boy did not ever groe up. He was always the boy. I do not expect a child to realize the world does not revolve around him, but it is so sad that as an adult he did not make it a two way relationship. But, as Anta said, maybe it is about how unconditional love does not need to be returned. It just is.

By: allysha

allysha — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:10:47 +0000

Confession: I hated that book as a child. Like you, it has always confused me. I have come to believe it is some sort of parable about parenting — but it strikes me as a depressing one.

By: mimi

mimi — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:04:36 +0000

God, I’m crying just thinking about it. Sometimes I spontaneously burst into tears when I’m singning munchkin her goodnight song, because it all seems so transitory to me. God. Wuss.