This author 'fixed' 'The Giving Tree' with a new ending. Some say it's long overdue.
What if the Giving Tree said "no" to the boy?
Thousands of adults online are resonating with alternate endings to classic children's books that may not have aged well in light of modern-day gentle parenting.
In his series 'Topher Fixed It,' Atlanta-based playwright and screenwriter Topher Payne reimagines "The Pout-Pout Fish," "Love You Forever," "The Rainbow Fish" and "The Giving Tree."
In the original 'Giving Tree,' the tree gives away her apples, branches and trunk for the boy who keeps returning and asking for more. It's been the subject of some criticism for portraying an unhealthy, one-sided relationship.
But in Payne's reimagined 'The Tree Who Set Healthy Boundaries,' the Giving Tree stops at the apples. Instead, the tree shares how she feels about their friendship changing and explains why she doesn't want to give everything away. The boy practices empathy and the tree remains strong and tall for generations to come.
The internet is divided: A Facebook user roasted the popular kids book 'Love You Forever'
'Setting healthy boundaries is a very important part of giving. It assures you'll always have something left to give,' the book ends. 'And so the tree was happy. Everyone was.'
Many Instagram users applauded the alternate ending, which was shared recently by both Payne and podcaster Adam Grant. Grant's post about the ending on May 4 has racked up 129K likes on Instagram.
'Reading your ending to 'The Giving Tree' healed a little piece of me tonight!' commented one Instagram user.
"Thank you for this − I always loathed the message in this book," another wrote. "The original is one of my favorite books," another person replied. "I've read it a hundred times and cry each and every time... I think reading both versions to our kids is key so they can see how the two options play out. Thank (you) for this."
Payne says he's also received backlash since he began the series during lockdown in 2020. But he emphasizes the alternate endings are meant to inspire thought, not criticize the originals. He first started the 'Topher Fixed It' series in hopes of prompting nuanced conversations that he remembers having with his aunt when he first read the books as a child.
'What I found in a lot of people's relationship with the book is that maybe that conversation doesn't always happen and so the messaging in 'The Giving Tree' can go off in some pretty wild directions,' Payne said.
He wrote the alternate endings to stand alongside the original text to compel conversation, whether that happens when reading to a child or returning to the text as an adult.
Other classics: 'Love You Forever' is being called 'unsettling'. These books are just as questionable.
'The stories we're told as children are often one of the few things we all have in common,' Payne said. 'The originals are a classic for a reason. I celebrate them and the (reimagined) stories are meant to stand alongside them, not in place of them.'
The 'Topher Fixed It' stories are available for free download from Payne's website. He does not receive monetary compensation for his alternate endings and is not seeking to publish them.
Readers have suggested other titles for him to reimagine, but Payne doesn't have any immediate plans to recreate another story. Instead, he encourages others to give it a try.
'If there is a story that you've been told that you would love to consider another option, put that to paper and see what it looks like,' he said. 'It can be really cathartic for you to resolve that story for yourself in that way.'
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Author 'fixed' 'The Giving Tree.' Some say it's long overdue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Naperville's India Day Festival reduced to parade only due to security requirements
The annual India Day Festival & Concert, which for years has brought large crowds to Naperville, will be scaled back this year, organizers have announced. Usually a day-long affair featuring live entertainment and a cultural festival at Naperville's Rotary Hill, the free event will be reduced to only a parade when held Aug. 10, organizers said in a Facebook post. The decision to curtail festivities was attributed to heightened costs and reduced funding, the post said. Presented by Indian Community Outreach, the festival commemorates Aug. 15, 1947, the day India won its freedom from British rule. Launched in 2015, the event has grown into one of the largest Indian American festivals of its kind across the country, according to Krishna Bansal, event founder and organizer. Cost increases were partly the result of new city-mandated security requirements, Bansal said. Namely, requirements mandating the use of fencing around the perimeter of the event and metal detectors at controlled entry and exit points and dictating that attendees could bring only clear bags onto the grounds, he said. Implementing those rules would have taken a 'mammoth amount of effort,' Bansal said. '(It would) take a huge amount of resources as well as cost to do that.' Sponsors primarily fund the festival, he said. Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said the security requirements aren't really new. Rather, they're 'something we've really been pushing towards for the past few years and are finally getting traction,' he said. It's a matter of public safety, Arres said. 'Outdoor events are big, big targets for those looking to do bad things,' he said, 'and they're increasingly vulnerable to mass violence. … (These recommendations) keep these events safe and actually can deter threats before they can occur.' They're also in line with what other large-scale events in town — Last Fling and Halal Fest, for instance — have been doing for a number of years, Arres said. 'We're not asking them (to do) anything different than any other progressive agencies and cities are doing because these are the best practices for these big-scale events,' he said. Asked if Indian Community Outreach plans to bring back the event in full in the future, Bansal said, 'We are not looking to cancel the event.' It's just a matter of how and where it will move forward, he said. They want to continue holding the event in Naperville but if doing so isn't feasible, 'we'll have to look around and see where we can do this effectively,' he said. 'This event is immensely popular,' he said. 'People want to have this event. We will continue with what we have built.' Changes to the festival follow last month's announcement that there would be no Naperville Salute this summer. The annual Fourth of July celebration, also held at Rotary Hill, was canceled to preserve the long-term health of both the event and the charitage organization behind it, organizers said. It was scheduled to take place from June 27-29 but now only the Naperville Responds for Veterans Ruck March will be held. Both cancellations come in the wake of Naperville Ribfest, another of the city's longstanding summer celebrations, permanently ending last year. tkenny@
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Kids Look So Grown Up in Rare Disneyland Video
Meghan Markle shared a montage of her family vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In the video, Markle could be seen enjoying rides and food with husband Prince Harry and kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Although Markle was careful to keep her kids' faces private, they are already looking so grown Markle and Prince Harry took their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on a family trip to Disneyland—and the photos and videos could not be cuter. Markle shared a few glimpses into their family vacation with a montage set to Peggy Lee's 'It's a Good Day' on Instagram, writing, 'Thank you @disneyland for giving our family two days of pure joy!' In the video montage, Markle and Harry take their kids on some of the most iconic Disneyland rides, including the Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Dumbo The Flying Elephant, Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance, and the Cars Land ride. Lilibet also looked thrilled to meet Elsa from Frozen. Markle wore a pair of the iconic Minnie Mouse ears over a black cap, along with a casual white shirt and jeans, while Harry opted for a black polo shirt and a cap. Archie coordinated with his dad wearing a simple top and jeans, while Lilibet wore an array of cute sundresses and a sparkly blue cap. Although Markle blocked out her children's faces, the video showed that Lilibet's strawberry red hair is getting ultra long and wavy, while Archie's hair is still just as auburn as ever. And the two kids are already looking so grown up! Lilibet turned four on June 4, and the family's trip to Disneyland seemingly coordinated with the big day—she even got a giant Mickey Mouse with a 'Happy Birthday, Lili' badge and a Little Mermaid-themed cake. The trip comes 31 years after Harry visited Walt Disney World with his mother, the late Princess Diana, and his brother, Prince William. Markle's video of her family trip to Disneyland follows on the heels of another intimate glimpse into her life with Harry. In honor of Lilibet's birthday, she shared a hilarious video of the pair twerking in the delivery room before welcoming her four years ago. Read the original article on InStyle
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville's India Day Festival reduced to parade only due to security requirements
The annual India Day Festival & Concert, which for years has brought large crowds to Naperville, will be scaled back this year, organizers have announced. Usually a day-long affair featuring live entertainment and a cultural festival at Naperville's Rotary Hill, the free event will be reduced to only a parade when held Aug. 10, organizers said in a Facebook post. The decision to curtail festivities was attributed to heightened costs and reduced funding, the post said. Presented by Indian Community Outreach, the festival commemorates Aug. 15, 1947, the day India won its freedom from British rule. Launched in 2015, the event has grown into one of the largest Indian American festivals of its kind across the country, according to Krishna Bansal, event founder and organizer. Cost increases were partly the result of new city-mandated security requirements, Bansal said. Namely, requirements mandating the use of fencing around the perimeter of the event and metal detectors at controlled entry and exit points and dictating that attendees could bring only clear bags onto the grounds, he said. Implementing those rules would have taken a 'mammoth amount of effort,' Bansal said. '(It would) take a huge amount of resources as well as cost to do that.' Sponsors primarily fund the festival, he said. Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said the security requirements aren't really new. Rather, they're 'something we've really been pushing towards for the past few years and are finally getting traction,' he said. It's a matter of public safety, Arres said. 'Outdoor events are big, big targets for those looking to do bad things,' he said, 'and they're increasingly vulnerable to mass violence. … (These recommendations) keep these events safe and actually can deter threats before they can occur.' They're also in line with what other large-scale events in town — Last Fling and Halal Fest, for instance — have been doing for a number of years, Arres said. 'We're not asking them (to do) anything different than any other progressive agencies and cities are doing because these are the best practices for these big-scale events,' he said. Asked if Indian Community Outreach plans to bring back the event in full in the future, Bansal said, 'We are not looking to cancel the event.' It's just a matter of how and where it will move forward, he said. They want to continue holding the event in Naperville but if doing so isn't feasible, 'we'll have to look around and see where we can do this effectively,' he said. 'This event is immensely popular,' he said. 'People want to have this event. We will continue with what we have built.' Changes to the festival follow last month's announcement that there would be no Naperville Salute this summer. The annual Fourth of July celebration, also held at Rotary Hill, was canceled to preserve the long-term health of both the event and the charitage organization behind it, organizers said. It was scheduled to take place from June 27-29 but now only the Naperville Responds for Veterans Ruck March will be held. Both cancellations come in the wake of Naperville Ribfest, another of the city's longstanding summer celebrations, permanently ending last year.
