As recommended by Meghan Markle as the one book she can’twait to share with her child – the timeless fable about the gift of love

Once there was a little tree … and she loved a little boy.

So begins the classic bestseller, beautifully written and illustrated by thegifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from herbranches, or slide down her trunk … and the tree was happy. But as the boygrew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave andgave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. ShelSilverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers anaffecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance ofanother’s capacity to love in return.

About the Author

Shel Silverstein’s very first children’s bookLafcadio,the Lion Who Shot Backwas published in 1963, and followed the nextyear by two other books.

The first of those,The Giving Tree,is amoving story about the love of a tree for a boy; it took four years beforeHarper Children’s books decided to publish it.

Shel returned to humour that same year withAGiraffe and a Half.His first collection of poems and drawings,Wherethe Sidewalk Ends,appeared in 1974, and his second,A Lightin the Attic,in 1981.

When he was a G.I. in Japan and Korea in the 1950, helearned to play the guitar and to write songs, including ‘A Boy Named Sue’ forJohnny Cash. In 1984, Silverstein won a Grammy Award for Best Children’s AlbumforWhere the Sidewalk Ends– ‘recited, sung and shouted’ bythe author.

He was also an accomplished playwright, including the 1981hit, ‘The Lady or the Tiger Show.’ The last book to be published before he diedin 1999, wasFalling Up(1996).