Who recommends it
- John Sibley Williams: Never, Ever Stop WritingInterview
Although I don’t have any direct memories from toddlerhood, I’m told no one could yank The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein from my hungry little hands. Now that I’m a parent, I can understand why. I choke up each time I read it to my little ones. In middle school, I read armloads of horror novels, then moved to Franz…
- Sally KohnInterview
Okay well, first of all, I live in a New York City apartment so I don’t have a garden and am having trouble with this whole scenario but beyond that, oy… I don’t know. I might be tempted to give them Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild, both because the aliens might identify, but also to help them…
- Amanda OleanderInterview
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein because it gave me a visceral feeling of appreciation to those that sacrifice so much for me like my parents. I also have to add that I was and still am obsessed with the illustrations.
- Andrew YangInterview
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
- Rebecca LammersenInterview
When I think of my childhood, I think of books like: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban.
- Sage FrancisInterview
Well, if it’s mandated by law, I’d hope it would be a book about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, local bylaws, stuff like that. Heh. If there’s anything they force down in school before you enter adult life, maybe it should be a book like that. That’s never done though. Only The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald…
- Juliette KayyemInterview
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein; maybe because I’m a mother of 3 now. I’d also add Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon! The first book I ever fell in love with though, was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
- Niki NakayamaInterview
I have two very important books from my childhood. The first one, Go Dog Go by PD Eastman and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Go Dog Go will always be the book I remember my mother by because she sat down to read it to me along with teaching me how to read. I still believe to this day that after learning from…
- Jake WeismanInterview
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Which probably explains why I was sad a lot of the time.
- Joe NavarroInterview
I came to this country as a refugee and for the longest time we could not afford anything to read. As a 9 year old, I would scour the neighborhood trash bins for reading material. There was an attorney that would throw out his books and I would collect them because they were beautifully bound and I was mesmerized by…
- Matt NaginInterview
Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. As a kid, I used to read that book again and again. It’s ironic, when you think about it, that there’s a book about a giving tree that was made from other trees.
Often recommended alongside
Man’s Search for Meaning
One Hundred Years of SolitudeMore books by Shel Silverstein our guests recommend
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this page.