Shel Silverstein
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Thoughts on Childrens Books
"Many often ask Silverstein: Why did you start to create children's books? I never planned to write or draw for kids. It was Tomi Ungerer, a friend of mine who insisted.....practically dragged me, kicking and screaming, into Ursula Nordstrom's office. And she convinced me that Tomi was right; I could do children's books. " (Jean F. Mercier, "Shel Silverstein," Publishers Weekly, February 24, 1975 ).
Nordstrom was Silverstein's editor, and the relationship between them is mutually rewarding. He considers her to be a great editor who knows when to leave an author-illustrator alone. When asked if he would change something simply because an editor told him to do so, his answer was a simple no. However, he does mention that "...he will take a suggestion for a revision. I do eliminate certain things when I'm writing for children if I think that only an adult will get the idea. Then I'll drop it, or save it. But editors messing with the content? No." (Publishers Weekly).
What did Silverstein think of his own writing?
"I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with in my books, pick up one and experience a personal sense of discovery. That's great. But for them, not for me. I think that if you're a creative person, you should just go about your business, do your work and not care about how its received. I never read reviews, because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too. Not that I don't care about success. I do, but only because it lets me do what I want. I was always prepared for success but that means that I have to be prepared for failure too."
"I have an ego, I have ideas, I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and don't care if they are published... I hate to hear talk like that. If it's good, it's too good not to share. That's the way I feel about my work."
"So I'll keep on communicating, but only my way. Lots of things I won't do. I won't go on television because who am I talking to? Johnny Carson? The camera? Twenty million people I can't see? Uh-uh. And I won't give any more interviews." -
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where the Sidewalk Ends, first published in 1974, is a collection of poems with illustrations. In 1981, Silverstein received the Michigan Young Readers Award for this book. The book is filled with poems that not only children can identify with but people of all ages. The poems (and song lyrics) are humorous, lively and sometimes have hidden meanings it seems. The simple style in which they are written and the child like world of ideas incorporated makes for accessible children's reading material. The viewpoint of a child in the poems can clearly be recognised and does not in anyway take away from the pleasure "grown-ups" can read in the same poems. Lessons and wisdom's are entwined throughout the poems. Where the Sidewalk Ends was banned in some school libraries (N.Dakota) because it was believed to undermine parental, school and religious authority (Biblio Bytes) -
Who wants a cheap Rhinoceros?
"There are lots of things a rhinocerous can do around the house, including eating bad report cards before one's parents see them, tiptoeing downstaris for a midnight snack, and collecting extra allowence." (Summary from this book). With the question in the title "Who wants a cheap Rhinoceros" the story continues with all sorts of different possiblities that having a rhinoceros can bring. In the story the cheap rhinoceros is a literally a great big friend that can be just as troublesome as helpfull in all sorts of diverse situations. -
Giraffe and a Half
A Giraffe and a Half, (1964), is a poem telling a hypothetical story about a Giraffe, and the many things that could happen to this giraffe...IF. The poems starts with "If you had a giraffe..." and continues by building along these lines with all sorts of different "ifs" and their conclusions. For every new possiblity ("if") all the possiblities that have gone before are repeated and the poem reaches a sort of climax. Before the climax for example as the book's cover shows, sooner or later;
"...you would have a giraffe and a half
with a rat in his hat
looking cute in a suit
with a rose on his nose
and a bee on his knee
playing toot on a flute
with a chair in his hair
and a snake eating cake
and a skunk in a trunk
and a dragon in a wagon
and a spike in his bike"
After the climax, a point where the giraffe has many complications, Silverstein 'ifs' the giraffe more or less back to a 'normal' giraffe. -
OOOHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I love him.................
The Missing Piece!!!!
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The Giving Tree
(some parts from a report by S.Bruehler)
The Giving Tree, one of Shel Silverstein 's earliest works, has been one of his biggest sellers, and one of the most successful children's books in years. It's a story about a relationship of give and take between a boy and a tree through out both the tree's and the boy's life span. As a child the boy plays in the tree, eats the apples and sits in the shade. As an adolescent the boy rests here with his girlfriend. As a man he takes and uses the tree's freely given wood to build a house, later chopping down the tree to build a boat. When the man is old all the tree can give is a stump for the old man to rest upon. (Sely Friday)
Originally when The Giving Tree was presented to a publisher, it was rejected by editor William Cole who later commented: "I was working at Simon & Schuster in the early 1960's when he came in and showed me The Giving Tree. I told him that it was a nice book, but since it fell between two stools, children and adult, it would never sell." (Edwin McDowell, "Shel Silverstein." New York Times Book Review, November 8,1981 ). However, since that time, it has been published and has achieved much acclaim. The Giving Tree is a difficult book to categorise, it equally appeals to the sophisticated and the simple, the reverent and the irreverent.
Even though, The Giving Tree, is one of Silverstein's most successful books, it is not one of his favourites. He commented that "its just a relationship between two people; one gives, the other takes" (Richard R. Lingeman, "The Third Mr. Silverstein," New York Times Book Review, April 30, 197
. However, some suggest that the popularity of the book might just be because of this, the fact that it presents just one idea. Naturally, Silverstein is happy with the book's success, but he does not agree with this reason. He feels that children are able to deal with many ideas at one time: "A story could deal with more, even 50, and so can the reader, if the ideas are all laid out". (Jean F. Mercier. "Shel Silverstein," Publishers Weekly, February 24, 1975). -
Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein was a composer, an artist, and the author of numerous books of prose and poetry for younger readers. His prose works include such modern classics as The Giving Tree (1963), Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back (1963), and The Missing Piece (1976), while among his immensely popular poetry collections are Where the Sidewalk Ends (Michigan Young Readers Award, 1974), A Light in the Attic (School Library Journal Best Books Award, 1982), and, most recently, Falling Up (HarperCollins, 1996). Silverstein's work, which he illustrated himself, is characterized by a deft mixing of the sly and the serious, the macabre and the just plain silly. Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, where he was writing from the time he was a young boy. His wicked, giddy humor is beloved by countless adults as well as by children. He died in May 1999.
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Mr. Grumpledump's Song
Shel Silverstein
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Everything's wrong,
Days are too long,
Sunshine's too hot,
Wind is too strong.
Clouds are too fluffy,
Grass is too green,
Ground is too dusty,
Sheets are too clean.
Stars are too twinkly,
Moon is too high,
Water's too drippy,
Sand is too dry.
Rocks are too heavy,
Feathers too light,
Kids are too noisy,
Shoes are too tight.
Folks are too happy,
Singin' their songs.
Why can't they see it?
Everything's wrong!
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I gave "The Giving Tree" to my gf. It was introduced to me by another friend of mine.
The thing is, my gf was very clever with art and she would use her colour pencils and bring many of the pictures to life. She would teach me how to observe the lighting and shade the corresponding area with a darker colour. We din last long but we still keep in touch. It was a great gift and I hope she still enjoys it.
But Mr. Silverstein's pic at the back of the book is a bit.. erm.. put-offish.
Just imagine... every apple individually coloured. -
He looks so big and gruff right??!! like a gangsta or something!!!Originally posted by Si Geena:I gave "The Giving Tree" to my gf. It was introduced to me by another friend of mine.
The thing is, my gf was very clever with art and she would use her colour pencils and bring many of the pictures to life. She would teach me how to observe the lighting and shade the corresponding area with a darker colour. We din last long but we still keep in touch. It was a great gift and I hope she still enjoys it.
But Mr. Silverstein's pic at the back of the book is a bit.. erm.. put-offish.
Just imagine... every apple individually coloured.
but what a sensitive soul!!! I love his work.. ...and he lived his life doing everything he loved...he was mutlifaceted and soooo talented...I really admire him for his work... I read somewhere that he passed away because of aids...another great loss to that disease 
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Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
Shel Silverstein -
Forgotten Language
Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?
Shel Silverstein -
One Inch Tall
If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.
If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.
You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--
'Cause I'm just one inch tall).
Shel Silverstein