SOURCE: Spitz, Ellen Handler. “Classic Children's Book.” American Heritage 50, no. 3 (May/June 1999): 46.

In the following essay, Spitz, the author of Inside Picture Books, criticizes Silverstein's popular storybook The Giving Tree as a sexist parable, while in the other half of the essay not printed here, she argues for a new reading of “The Story of Little Black Sambo” that pinpoints the “psychological brilliance” of the latter.

Most Overrated Classic Children's Book: Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, which has constantly been reprinted since 1964 and sells so well that its publisher has never even bothered to bring it out in paperback. People assume it glorifies love and generosity, but just think for a moment about the messages it gives children. A tree called “she” is its title character. Under “her” branches a little boy is playing. His only communication with the tree throughout the book is to ask her to...