The Giving Tree Original Autograph Manuscript.

SILVERSTEIN, Shel.

Item Number: 116388

The original manuscript of one of the most commercially successful children’s books of all time and Shel Silverstein’s most famous work, The Giving Tree, entirely in his had with his publisher’s edits in pencil throughout. Quarto, 38 pasteboard pages with Silverstein’s original ink drawings on paper adhered to each page and Silverstein’s original handwritten text. With numerous revisions by Silverstein, most notably on the final page of the story where Silverstein has changed “and the boy and the tree were happy” to “And the tree was happy.” In very good condition. Lacking pages 2, 3, 4 and 36. A remarkable piece offering exclusive insight into the author/illustrator’s process and furthering the mysterious and ambiguous nature of the widely interpreted story of a selfless tree and her beloved companion.

One of the most widely interpreted and best-selling children's books of all time, The Giving Tree has sold over ten million copies since its first appearance in 1964. The book has been described as "one of the most divisive books in children's literature" for the inherent ambiguity and various interpretations inspired by the relationship between the selfless female giving tree and the human boy who benefits from her gifts as he grows through adulthood into old age. Throughout the picture book, the boy benefits at all stages of life from the tree's gifts with little regard for the tree's well-being in return. Critics, readers, poets and philosophers have debated the meaning of The Giving Tree, finding it more than the sum of its parts. The relationship between the tree and the boy has been interpreted as a representation of the relationship between man and nature, mother and child, and as the "Christian ideal of unconditional love" (Leonard, 2005).