The Giving Back Tree

A tree that gives back.

Most of us grew up with a tree that gave until nothing was left. This tree asks the boy for a little help, and every time he gives, she gives more back.

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A picture book for ages 3 to 8, with a three-day lesson, a plant-a-seed activity and a pledge kids sign themselves.

Cover of The Giving Back Tree by Norwalk Crown: a boy in red overalls reaching for an apple under a green tree

A note for grown-ups

Most of us grew up with The Giving Tree. The tree gives a boy her apples, her branches, her trunk. At the end she is a stump, he sits on her, and we are told she was happy.

It never made sense to me. A tree that gives until nothing is left teaches a child to take.

Love runs both ways. The tree in this book asks the boy for help, and every time he helps her, she gives more back.

Read this one to your kids. Then read the other one, and ask them which tree they would rather be.

Norwalk Crown

Nobody gets used up. Everybody grows.

  • The boy on a stool pruning the tree

    He pruned her branches.

    She grew fuller.

  • The boy reaching for a falling apple beside a basket

    He picked her apples.

    More apples grew.

  • The boy packing soil around the roots

    He fed her roots.

    She grew strong.

  • The boy planting an apple beside the tree

    He planted the old apples.

    She was not alone.

  • The boy laughing on a swing hung from a branch

    He built a swing.

    She swayed with him.

  • The grown boy handing shears and seeds to his son and daughter

    He taught his children.

    And it all kept growing.

In the back of the book

The last pages turn the reading into something kids do. Parents use them at the kitchen table. Teachers copy them for the whole class.

  • Let’s talk about itFive questions that get past “I liked it.”
  • Read it next to The Giving TreeThree days, three conversations, one hard question.
  • Plant somethingA bean, a paper cup and a sunny window.
  • My care chartThree weeks of checking on something that depends on you.
  • Twelve ways to give backSmall jobs kids can do this week without being asked.
  • My Giving Back PledgeSigned by the kid, not the parent.
The boy looking up at the apple tree

For teachers and homeschool families

A free 29-page kit: three full lesson plans for K to 3, Florida B.E.S.T. and Common Core alignment, a rubric and thirteen printables.

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The boy laughing on a swing under the tree

For local businesses

Give a classroom a copy for every student, with your name on a bookplate inside each one. The kids take it home. Their parents see who gave it.

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