Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein

Well, I simply had to blog about this poetry book from my youth. I absolutely LOVED this book when I was a kid, and I still have my original copy- inscribed "Merry Christmas Suellen 1981 Love Aunt Candy and Uncle Paul"

This collection of poems and drawings contains a fun mix of silly and serious. Mostly silly, I think this book attracts children to poetry, and makes them laugh. As I re-read this book as an adult, I find myself drawn to some of the poems that I really don't remember from my childhood. My favorite as an adult is "Listen to the Mustn'ts":

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

As a kid, I loved "Sick" and "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out." I remember memorizing "Sick" in 5th grade and performing it for my class.

The illustrations in this book are simple, yet add meaning to many of Silverstein's poems. This is a classic, must have book for the classroom!

As a side note, I was reading the acknowledgments in the back of the book, and noticed that several of the poems are actually taken from previously published words in slightly different versions. Many of them were originally written by William Cole. I certainly always assumed these were original poems by Shel Silverstein. I just thought that was interesting.