The Giving Tree written by Shel Silverstein is such an incredible book. It is about a tree who loved a little boy very much. She was so kind and also giving. As a child, the boy would eat the apples from the tree and use her to play on. This made the tree very happy. As the boy grew older, he begin using the tree for other things, like to make money, to build a house, and to build a boat, until one day there was nothing left of the tree but the stump. This made the tree happy... but not really. One day the boy who is now an old man, returned once more to the tree. The tree sadly says that she has nothing left to give. The old man is completely okay with that for he just wanted to use her stump to sit and rest on. This makes the tree very happy again.
This book could be used in grades k-2. This book could be read around thanksgiving. Students could create their own tree with cut-out apples and have the students write down on each apple what they could give or a thankful for. Also, create a giving tree bulletin board and write items needed for classroom on apples. The parents take an apple at open house.
