Shel Silverstein was an author, a poet, a dreamer, a schemer, a songwriter, a singer, a screenwriter, a playwright, an artist, a cartoonist, a veteran, and just an all-around remarkable man. He was born September 25, 1930 and died May 10, 1999. He called himself Uncle Shelby.
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| Shel Silverstein |
One of my favorite of his children's books is The Giving Tree. In the book the tree gives everything it has to the child as the child grows up. The child does not seem thankful at all, but just keeps asking for more.
I've often wondered why Uncle Shelby wrote the child to be so selfish with no seeming redeeming qualities, but if I think about it, I have to admit humanity is pretty much the same. I feel so sorry for the tree in the story, but the tree seems content to give and the child seems okay with taking and taking and taking offering nothing in return.
I think this book is one of my favorites because it is honest. It doesn't even try to color-coat the truth.
Yes. I love Uncle Shelby's children's books, but his poems hold my heart. I just love them. They make me laugh.
I bought his books of poetry as they were published (beginning in the 1970s) and still have them on my bookshelf today: Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up.
I read these poems to my sons over and over and over as they were growing up. Their favorite was:
SMART (from Where the Sidewalk Ends)
by Shel Silverstein
My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes -- I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!
And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!
But my all time favorite was:
HECTOR THE COLLECTOR (from Where the Sidewalk Ends)
by Shel Silverstein
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks
.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul,
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin' gold.
Hector called to all the people,
"Come and share my treasure trunk!"
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked...and called it junk.
My very favorite of the songs Uncle Shelby wrote was sung by Johnny Cash. It was called: A Boy Named Sue. Enjoy!
To learn more about Shel Silverstein visit http://www.shelsilverstein.com/
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