Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love Shel Silverstein's poetry, but I hate "The Giving Tree". The story is about a self-centered boy/man who takes from, and uses, a tree until the tree is literally destroyed. The boy never reciprocates, and when he's taken almost all he can, he abandons the tree, returning only when he is old and needs something else. The boy never uses creativity or determination to solve his problems, he goes to the tree and whines. The tree is giving to a fault, allowing itself to be a used for what it has to offer, never receiving the love it gives so readily. On a more literal level, the book teaches a terrible lesson about environmental stewardship: trees are here for man's use, not to be admired and protected. The comparison to the parent-child relationship that many people use to praise this book really bothers me. Parenting the way this tree gives and loves will lead to creating children like this boy: selfish people with a sense of entitlement. A parent gives love, but also receives love from their child. The tree receives no love from this child, despite all she gives. This story isn't just about giving love...the tree doesn't just give love. A parent shouldn't just give a child whatever he/she wants or, when they're older, needs. That will turn a child into a taker, like the little jerk in this book. This story does not teach compassion or responsibility, or even generosity.