"The Self-centered Little Brat"

[legalmoose]

Am I the only person who finds "The Giving Tree" to be a horrible book about a selfish little brat who keeps sucking the life out of the poor tree until at last he's left parking his middle-aged ass on top of the grave of the dead tree?

Comments

[deuterium-d3.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you could construe the tree's selfless generosity as the mark of a true chump :P

[nadd-badger.livejournal.com]

nice icon ^_^
*pat pat*

but what si the story?
is it one of those books that all American kids read?
like the Hungry Catapiller etc....

[primavera.livejournal.com]

The Giving Tree (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060256656/honeyshoppinhome), by Shel Silverstein, popular children's poet.

Re:

[nadd-badger.livejournal.com]

OMG
how horrid!!!!!!

that is awful!!!!
so - in a nutshell - this boy kills this tree that was really nice to him?????

*shudder*

at least my book had a nice message (sort of - eat and be pretty)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140500871/026-1694632-4902038

Peter

[primavera.livejournal.com]

I remember the caterpillar.. definitely a superior book.

Re:

[nadd-badger.livejournal.com]

way better
maybe hid the author's awful secret life?

[primavera.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's how I see it too. The tree is selfless and loving and the boy keeps taking without even saying thank you.. how "heartwarming."

[the-dibbler.livejournal.com]

bahahaha....awww come on, shel had some great ones out there....

[lorelei-aisling.livejournal.com]

I agree. I thought the kid was a selfish little shit. Poor tree!

[tracytracy.livejournal.com]

the photo on the back of the book always scared the crap out of me ;)

I never thought of it as being a particularly bad book, but then again, I was raised to be the "the tree". All that Catholic Guilt thing too - give give give, adn then keep on giving until your just a lump no good to anyone. yeah! That's a lesson we need to teach our kids! not!

Now, "Eloise", those books I find atrocious. Poor kid, abandoned by her parents, living in a hotel, doesn't even go to school, hanging out with her beer drinking nanny, playing pranks on the other guests, terrorizing the staff - man, she's going to need a lot of therapy when she grows up :)

[italhorseman.livejournal.com]

No you aren't. I cried because of the tree...not the chump!