By Junie | Thoughts of Junie
Do you remember your favorite childhood book?
The one that made you feel something deep in your little heart, even if you didn’t quite understand it yet? The one you carried with you—physically or emotionally—into adulthood?
For me, that book was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
A simple story with simple words. But even as a child, I knew it wasn’t just a story about a boy and a tree. I knew it was something bigger.
🌱 A Story That Stuck
I didn’t realize it then, but The Giving Tree is a love story. Not the romantic kind. The kind that asks:
How much of yourself would you give to someone you love?
And—what happens when you give too much?
As a child, I saw the tree as kind and generous. As an adult… I see her as heartbreakingly selfless.
đź’” Growing Up Means Rereading Differently
When you’re young, you relate to the boy. You want, you need, you take.
When you’re older, you become the tree. You give, you wait, you ache.
Reading The Giving Tree again as an adult hits differently. I’ve been the tree in relationships—giving more than I had, hoping love would be enough. And I’ve been the boy too—unintentionally taking from people who were simply trying to love me.
And that’s what makes this book so timeless:
It grows with you. It shifts. It mirrors where you are in your life.
đź’Ś What It Taught Me
That love without boundaries isn’t sustainable. That giving doesn’t always mean loving—it can also mean losing yourself. That we all deserve to receive as much as we give.
It also taught me that the most powerful stories don’t need to be long or complicated. They just need to be honest.
đź“– Do You Remember Yours?
I’m curious—
👉 What was your favorite childhood book?
👉 And what has it taught you now, looking back?
Was it magical? Messy? Maybe a little melancholy, like mine?
Let’s have a storytime for grownups in the comments. I’d love to hear what book has lived rent-free in your heart all these years.
With love and leaves,
Junie 🌳
📲 Let’s Take It Further
Tag a friend who reminds you of the tree—or the boy.
Revisit that book. Reread it. Re-feel it.
And maybe… write a new ending of your own.
“And the tree was happy… but not really.”
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