Redtree Times

Yesterday I received a copy of the classic children’s book The Giving Tree written by the great Shel Silverstein.  It was sent by a friend who had been at the recent gallery talk at the West End Gallery.  I had been asked during the talk if I had ever read the short tale and I said that while I had heard of it, I had never chanced across it .    I was moved when I found it in my mailbox and even more so after reading the simple story of a  boy and a tree and the loving sacrifices made by the tree.

It’s a lovely story and will have a spot of honor on my studio bookshelf.

I used a Shel Silverstein poem, Smart, a couple of years ago on a Father’s Day post and knew of some of his other books and his song A Boy Named Sue that was a favorite of mine growing up.  But I never knew that he wrote so many other well known songs.  For example, I didn’t know that he had written The Unicorn that is the signature song of the Irish Rovers  or The Cover of the Rolling Stone which became an instant classic for Dr. Hook.  He also wrote a couple of lesser known favorites of mine– 25 Minutes To Go for Johnny Cash and Tequila Sheila for Bobby Bare.  A great talent. 

Silverstein died in 1999.  If you’ haven’t read this lovely story, here’s a short film of Shel Silverstein from 1973 reading The Giving Tree with his animated illustrations.