Every Thing On It

I don't remember how old I was when I first read Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends (other than very young indeed), but I do remember the incredible delight I felt, because I've never stopped feeling it. Every time I pick one of his books up, the feeling instantly comes flooding back. Silverstein was one of the best things about my childhood, and, no, I don't think I'm exaggerating there. His poems are silly and clever, deliciously evil, laugh-out-loud funny, strangely insightful, and wonderfully subversive in ways that even little kids who've never heard the word "subversive" in their lives can instantly relate to. I adored them then, and I still do now.

I wasn't holding out lots of hope for this new collection, though. After show more all, books published years after the death of their author often turn out to be second-rate, unedited rejects scraped from the bottom of their desk drawers, right? Besides, encountering something like this for the first time can't possibly be the same when you're forty. Right?

Except, whaddaya know, it turns out it can be. And if this came out of the bottom of Silverstein's desk drawer, I can only hope there's a lot more down there where it came from. I swear, reading this made me feel like a little kid again, complete with all the delight I felt when I first read A Light in the Attic. Which isn't quite the same delight I felt when I first encountered Where the Sidewalk ends, since Silverstein was a brand new surprise then, and that only happens once. But it's more than enough.

A few pages in, I was thinking, in that wistful way I sometimes do when reading good kids' books, that I wished I could hop into a time machine and send this back to me-as-a-child, knowing she would have been absolutely over the moon. By halfway through, I was thinking, "Screw little-kid me! She can't have this one! It's mine!"

So, thank you, Mr. Silverstein. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. show less

I was raised on Silverstein’s poetry collections and my well-worm copies of Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light In the Attic, and Falling Up have a permanent spot of my favorites shelf. I even memorized one of his poems (on ice cream flavors) for a junior high speech competition.

So I’ve been looking forward to this one since I found out about it. The posthumously published collection includes some gems. Most are funny, some are sweet and every so often you stumble on one that’s poignant as well.

Here’s my particular favorite…

SPIDER
A spider lives inside my head
Who weaves a strange and wondrous web
Of silken threads and silver strings
To catch all sorts of flying things,
Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles
And specks of show more dried-up tears,
And dust of dreams that catch and cling
For years and years and years ….

One of the final poems in the book is a bittersweet encouragement to potential poets out there…

WHEN I AM GONE
When I am gone what will you do?
Who will write and draw for you?
Someone smarter–someone new?
Someone better–maybe YOU!

BOTTOM LINE: Silverstein’s poems have a playfulness that makes them fun for readers of all ages. I loved this new book and just like his others, I know I’ll be reading it over and over again in future years. show less

I was thrilled to find this posthumously published book by Shel Silverstein when I was at our local public library recently, but not as enchanted by it as I was with some of Silverstein's earlier poetry collections, such as A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends. He still does share some rollicking, humorous poems in this collection, though, which my youngest daughter loved, and his illustrations do not disappoint, just as in his earlier publications. They are all line drawings, and often are the stand-alone punch lines to the poems, creating humor where there would be none otherwise. I would recommend this book to at least middle elementary grades, as the humor was completely lost on some of the first graders to whom I read show more aloud these poems. show less

Shel Silverstein es un escritor que adoro, más allá de si sus libros son para niños siempre esconden cierta sabiduría para jóvenes y adultos pero definitivamente creo que sus poemas, en su mayoría, no son para mi, o al menos no cuando trata de ser gracioso. Hay algunos poemas que destacan por ser tan lindos, siendo mi favorito de toda la vida Happy ending? , pero la mayoría de ellos no son para mi, no logro captar el humor o simplemente no me divierten, por lo que no me dejan esa sensación maravillosa que me da con algunas de sus historias.

Aun así creo que los niños si podrían disfrutar estos poemas, entiendo que no soy el target de este libro y por ello cuando encuentro las joyas escondidas que aquí aparecen me es imposible show more no emocionarme. Algo que tengo que decir es que si quieres leer este libro hazlo en ingles, muchos chistes o rimas se pierden en la traducción y, con un lenguaje tan sencillo como el que aquí maneja, lo ideal es tenerlo en su idioma original.

Dejaré aquí algunos de los poemas que más me gustaron: show less

This is a wonderful collection to bring out the silly person in all of us. It tackles every day subjects like dirty feet, garlic bread, trampoline, and hot dogs. Many of the poems have a punch line, and as you'd expect, the drawings often tell the punch line instead of the text. This would be a great silly read-aloud for the younger set to get them hooked on poetry. It's also got some pretty poignant messages mixed in with the silliness that might fit well with more serious topics. I particularly liked "Masks" about two blue skinned people who each hide behind masks while searching for a blue-skinned friend. Of course they pass each other by behind their masks. It's the kind of collection worth reading in its entirety as a teacher and show more keeping around for that perfect moment, or as an activity for a particular unit or topic. I appreciate the index, so that I can grab it and find that perfect poem easily when the situation strikes. show less

I was thrilled to get this posthumously published collection of Shel Silverstein's poems and drawings for Christmas. I grew up with [Where the Sidewalk Ends] and [A Light in the Attic], and I still appreciate Uncle Shelby's sense of humor. Reading these while the kids were home from school on Christmas break meant that I could share the best of the collection on the spot. While the kids were most fond of the funny poems, I like the poignant ones, including one titled "When I Am Gone."

When I am gone what will you do?
Who will write and draw for you?
Someone smarter - someone new?
Someone better - maybe YOU!

Although I'm usually not a huge fan of poetry, I adore the poems in this book. They are clever, witty, original, funny, and complimented by the humorous illustrations. I like the way he can poke fun at serious or irritating situations. My favorite poem is Nasty Nancy's Store. "Whatever you want we're all out of. Whatever you need we ain't got. If you ask if we have what you heard that we have, I'll tell you right now we do not". The poem continues in this way. I find it so funny, because I can easily relate to going to a store only to find out the items are sold out, missing, or were never there to begin with. This book definitely should be in the classroom! Reading a funny poem can be a great strategy for managing transitions smoothly. show more It could also be a fun way to end the school day. show less