a sadomasochistic relationship" and "elevates masochism to the level of a good", which mirrors Mary Daly's analysis in Gyn/Ecology: the Metaethics of Radical Feminism. One college instructor discovered that the book caused both male and female remedial reading students to be angry because they felt that the boy exploited the tree. For teaching purposes, he paired the book with a short story by Andre Dubus entitled "The Fat Girl" because its plot can be described as The Giving Tree "in reverse." Some readers may interpret the book against the wider background of Silverstein's interactions with women, e.g., that he frequented the Playboy Mansion and Playboy Clubs, and allegedly, according to his biography A Boy Named Shel, slept with hundreds, perhaps thousands of women. Christopher Westley writing for the Mises Institute describes the tree-boy relationship as similar to a socialist or communist government that extracts far too much from its citizens while not providing anything back in return. He describes this unsustainable and parasitic relationship as something toxic and ought to be avoided at all costs; regardless of whether on an individual level, such as two lovers, or a parent and child, or on the level of voter to his or her government. Ruth Margalit further relayed the damaging message that mothers sometimes have by receiving The Giving Tree as a gift; she quotes children's-book author Laurel Snyder who said, "When you give a new mother ten copies of ‘The Giving Tree,’ it does send a message to the mother that we are supposed to be this person." Author's photograph The photograph of Silverstein on the back cover of the book has attracted negative attention, with some people finding it frightening. This photograph and the attention it received was touched upon in the children's novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by author Jeff Kinney. Protagonist Greg Heffley states that the photograph of Silverstein on the back cover of The Giving Tree terrified him as a child, and that his father would exploit this fear, saying to his son that if he got out of bed at night, he would "probably run into Shel Silverstein in the hallway". Cultural influences and adaptations Other versions A short animated film of the book, produced in 1973, featured Silverstein's narration. Silverstein also wrote a song of the same name, which was performed by Bobby Bare and his family on his album Singin'