About | Blog | Quiz | Phrases | Grammar | Word Frequency | SRT2TXT


ESL-Chat Blog


The Giving Tree

In a 1999-2000 National Education Association online survey of children, among the "Kids’ Top 100 Books," the book was 24th. Based on a 2007 online "Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children" poll by the National Education Association, the book came in third. It was 85th of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal. Scholastic Parent & Child magazine placed it #9 on its list of "100 Greatest Books for Kids" in 2012. As of 2013, it ranked third on a Goodreads list of "Best Children’s Books." - From Wikipedia

The Giving Tree is one of the best-selling books of all time with more than 5 million copies sold.

Here is the full text of the book:

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree....
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree
and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and
climb up my trunk and swing from my
branches and eat apples and play in my
shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play" said
the boy.
"I want to buy things and have fun.
I want some money?"
"I’m sorry," said the tree, "but I
have no money.
I have only leaves and apples.
Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in
the city. Then you will have money and
you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the
tree and gathered her apples
and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time....
and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back
and the tree shook with joy
and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk
and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.
"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.
"I want a wife and I want children,
and so I need a house.
Can you give me a house ?"
" I have no house," said the tree.
"The forest is my house,
but you may cut off
my branches and build a
house. Then you will be happy."
And so the boy cut off her branches
and carried them away
to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time.
And when he came back,
the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.
"Come, Boy," she whispered,
"come and play."
"I am too old and sad to play,"
said the boy.
"I want a boat that will
take me far away from here.
Can you give me a boat?"
"Cut down my trunk
and make a boat," said the tree.
"Then you can sail away...
and be happy."
And so the boy cut down her trunk
and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy
... but not really.
And after a long time
the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy,"
said the tree," but I have nothing
left to give you -
My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak
for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone,"
said the tree. " You
cannot swing on them - "
"I am too old to swing
on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.
"You cannot climb - "
"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something....
but I have nothing left.
I am just an old stump.
I am sorry...."
"I don’t need very much now," said the boy.
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting
Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.

Book information:
Reading age: 4+
Word count: 621
Number of unique words: 158, Word list
Number of pages: 57
Year: 1964
Sales (millions): 5
Links: Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Common Sense Media, Printables, Lexile

Similar books:

Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
Age: 4+
Year: 1963
Pages: 40
Word count: 332
Unique word count: 135
Sales (millions): 20
More...
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle
Age: 2+
Year: 1969
Pages: 26
Word count: 227
Unique word count: 106
Sales (millions): 35
More...
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
Age: 4+
Year: 1960
Pages: 65
Word count: 769
Unique word count: 50
Sales (millions): 8
More...
The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
Age: 4+
Year: 1957
Word count: 1,621
Sales (millions): 10
More...
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
Age: 2+
Year: 1947
Pages: 18
Word count: 131
Unique word count: 54
Sales (millions): 16
More...
Winnie-the-Pooh
by A.A. Milne
Age: 5+
Year: 1926
Pages: 176
Word count: 22,671
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr.
Age: 2+
Year: 1967
Pages: 26
Word count: 196
Unique word count: 32
Sales (millions): 7
More...
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
by Dr. Seuss
Age: 3+
Year: 1960
Word count: 1,308
Sales (millions): 6
More...
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
Age: 5+
Year: 1972
Pages: 32
Word count: 762
Unique word count: 289
More...
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Age: 4+
Year: 1985
Pages: 40
Word count: 291
More...
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
Age: 3+
Year: 1902
Pages: 72
Word count: 975
Unique word count: 383
Sales (millions): 45
More...
Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
Age: 4+
Year: 1990
Pages: 56
Word count: 917
Sales (millions): 5
More...
Corduroy
by Don Freeman
Age: 5+
Year: 1968
Word count: 704
More...
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by Bill Martin Jr.
Age: 2+
Year: 1989
Pages: 36
Word count: 212
Unique word count: 110
Sales (millions): 1
More...
The Snowy Day
by Ezra Jack Keats
Age: 2+
Year: 1962
Word count: 316
Unique word count: 158
More...
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
by Jon Scieszka
Age: 5+
Year: 1989
Pages: 32
Word count: 572
More...
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
by Dr. Seuss
Age: 2+
Year: 1963
Pages: 24
Word count: 392
Unique word count: 133
Sales (millions): 5
More...
Are You My Mother?
by P. D. Eastman
Age: 3+
Year: 1960
Pages: 72
Word count: 698
Sales (millions): 4
More...
Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch
Age: 4+
Year: 1986
Pages: 32
Word count: 792
Unique word count: 166
Sales (millions): 8
More...
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
Age: 3+
Year: 1941
Pages: 72
Word count: 1,149
More...

More books: 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

See also:
Classic Children Books
Classic School Age Children Books
Classic Books for Teenagers
Classic Children Books by Age
Best-selling Books of All Time
The Benefits of Reading for Kids
Why Learn English Language?
Shortest Books
Shortest Books (unique words)
Longest Books
Best way to learn English
How NOT to Learn English!
CVC Words
What you need to know to learn a new language?
Why I forget what I learned?
Vocabulary Size
More...


0 (558), fiction (227), novel (103), children`s literature (91), science fiction (88), fantasy fiction (61), fantasy (60), historical fiction (51), speculative fiction (46), horror fiction (44), mystery (43), non-fiction (42), self-help (38), romance novel (35), gothic fiction (31), young adult fiction (30), biography (27), humour (24), satire (22), autobiography (20), thriller (19), picture book (19), children (18), domestic fiction (18), crime fiction (18), bildungsroman (18), philosophical fiction (16), memoir (16), adventure fiction (15), literary fiction (14), legal thriller (12), psychological fiction (12), board book (11), absurdist fiction (11), suspense (10), magical realism (9), utopian and dystopian fiction (9), history (9), psychology (9), health (9), alternate history (8), poetry (8), nutrition (8), apocalyptic fiction (8), novella (8), drama (8), steampunk (8), black comedy (7), travel literature (7), toy book (7), postmodern literature (7), graphic novel (6), short story (6), inspirational fiction (6), self-help book (6), diet (6), advice (6), research (6), tragedy (6), war story (6), comics (6), psychological horror (6), life (5), dystopia (5), child rearing (5), occult fiction (5), detective fiction (5), bedtime story (5), cooking (5), techno-thriller (5), autobiographical novel (5), modern literature (5), parable (5), essay (5), chick lit (5), comedy (5), fairy tale (5), greek mythology (4), picaresque fiction (4), southern gothic (4), happiness (4), diet book (4), literary cookbook (4), parenting (4), tragicomedy (4), physics (4), historical (4), dissertation (4), epistolary novel (4), humorous fiction (4), high fantasy (4), thesis (4), academic writing (4), reference work (3), political fiction (3), science fantasy (3), middle ages (3), bedtime (3), gratitude (3), african-american literature (3), roman à clef (3), legal story (3), diabetes (3), postmodernism (3), epic poetry (3), dystopian fiction (3), christian literature (3), science (3), grammar (3), pulitzer (2), non-fiction novel (2), christian fiction (2), cyberpunk (2), comic science fiction (2), literary realism (2), cyberpunk derivatives (2), rhyme (2), religious fiction (2), emotional intelligence (2), motivation (2), autobiographical comics (2), intelligence (2), military science fiction (2), parallel novel (2), emotion (2), education (2), guidebook (2), fitness (2), politics (2), psychological thriller (2), statistics (2), reading primer (2), romance (2), western (2), short story collection (2), creative nonfiction (2), encyclopedic novel (2), urban fantasy (2), nonfiction (2), montessori (2), vampire literature (2), puns (2), transgressive fiction (2), farce (2), juvenile fantasy (2), true crime (2), spy fiction (2), surrealism (2), erotic literature (2), teens (2), hard science fiction (2), paranoid fiction (1), weird fiction (1), superhero fiction (1), philosophy (1), counterfactual history (1), tragicomedy (play) (1), victorian literature (1), romanticism (1), sensation novel (1), christian apologetics (1), political philosophy (1), fantastique (1), adventure story (1), taoism (1), storytelling (1), witches (1), espionage (1), geography (1), nhs (1), pregancy (1), allegory (1), rules (1), death (1), peace (1), bullying (1), denial (1), usa (1), wisdom (1), wwii (1), plague (1), horror (1), story (1), economy (1), friendship (1), generosity (1), opposites (1), new-age music (1), success (1), money (1), puzzles (1), non-fiction comics (1), brain (1), gender (1), religion (1), economics (1), pastoral (1), elegy (1), paranormal romance (1), modernism (1), popular science (1), christmas story (1), comic fantasy (1), dictionary (1), social commentary (1), post-postmodernism (1), hysterical realism (1), soft science fiction (1), space opera (1), children literature (1), secret history (1), sea (1), marriage (1), gonzo journalism (1), novel of manners (1), punctuation (1), nursery rhyme (1), comedy horror (1), novel ( (1), slice of life (1), metafiction (1), decision making (1), social novel (1), didactic fiction (1), textbook (1), misery lit (1), historiographic metafiction (1), fictional autobiography (1), cookbook (1), political thriller (1), language (1), slipstream genre (1), fantastic (1), medical (1), alternative universe (1), contemporary fantasy (1), epic (1), dark fantasy (1), china (1), style (1), creativity (1), encouragement (1), nanopunk (1), manga (1), fable (1), serial (1), social criticism (1), hardboiled (1), feminist fiction (1), existentialism (1), western fiction (1), the holocaust (1), litrpg (1), picture puzzle (1), pirates (1), saga (1), absurdism (1), christian mythology (1), experimental literature (1), treatise (1), teenage (1),



See also:
Classic Children Books
Classic School Age Children Books
Classic Books for Teenagers
Classic Children Books by Age
Best-selling Books of All Time
The Benefits of Reading for Kids
Why Learn English Language?
Shortest Books
Shortest Books (unique words)
Longest Books
Best way to learn English
How NOT to Learn English!
CVC Words
What you need to know to learn a new language?
Why I forget what I learned?
Vocabulary Size
More...

About | Blog | Quiz | Phrases | Grammar | Word Frequency | SRT2TXT