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What happens if the given tree says to the boy “No”?
Thousands of adults online resonate with alternative endings to classic children’s books that may not age in light of modern calm parenting.
In his series “Topher Fixed It,” Atlanta-based playwright and screenwriter TockerPaine rethinks “Pout Pout Fish,” “Love You Forever,” “The Rainbow Fish,” and “The Giving Tree.”
In the original “Giving Tree,” the tree gives apples, branches and trunks for the boy who wants back and forth more. It was the subject of some criticism of portraying unhealthy, one-sided relationships.
However, reconsidering Payne’s “a tree that builds healthy boundaries,” the “gift tree stops with an apple. Instead, the tree shares how she feels about her friendship changing and explains why she doesn’t want to give it all. The boy practices empathy, and the tree remains strong and tall for future generations.
“Setting healthy boundaries is a very important part of giving. It ensures that you always have something to give,” the book ends. “So the tree was happy. Everyone was.”
Many Instagram users praised the alternative endings that both Payne and Podcaster Adam Grant recently shared. Grant’s post about the May 4th ending received 129K likes on Instagram.
“Reading the Giving Tree has soothed my small pieces tonight! ” Commented to one of our Instagram users.
“Thank you for this – I’ve always hated the message in this book,” another wrote. “The original is one of my favorite books,” replied another. “I read it every time and cry every time… I think it’s important for our kids to read both versions.
Payne says he has received backlash since launching the series during the 2020 lockdown. However, he emphasizes that it is intended to stimulate thought rather than criticize the original. He first launched the “Topher Fixed It” series. He hopes to encourage subtle conversations that he remembers being with his aunt when he read a book as a child.
“What I found in the relationship between a lot of people with the book is that the ‘Giving Tree’ message can go in a rather wilder direction, as that conversation probably doesn’t always happen,” Payne said.
He wrote an alternative ending to stand with the original text, as it forces a conversation when reading a child or returning to the text as an adult.
“The stories we tell as children are often one of the few things that we all have in common,” Payne said. “The originals have a reason. I celebrate them. The (rethinked) stories are meant to stand with them, not in place of them.”
The “Topher Fixed It” story is available for free download from the Payne website. He has not received financial compensation for his alternative endings and is not trying to publish them.
Readers suggest other titles for him to rethink, but Payne has no immediate plans to recreate another story. Instead, he encourages others to try it.
“If you have a story that says you want to consider another option, put it on paper and see what it looks like,” he said. “It’s really cathartic for you to solve that story for yourself like that.”
Adrianna Rodriguez can visit adrodriguez@usatoday.com.