Who is your favorite poet? For many, young people, the answer is Shel Silverstein. Shel's first book Uncle Shelby 's Story of Lafeadio the.Lion Who Shot Back was published in the1960s, , and since then his children's books have sold more than 30 million copies! Young people recognize that Shel really understood his readers.
Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. He began writing poems when he was young. Although he was best known for writing children's stories, Shel was creative in many ways. He began his career in the arts as a cartoonist in his twenties. He also was a talented singer, songwriter, composer, and illustrator. In fact, Shel illustrated all of his children's books himself. This is one reason the pictures seem to match the poem so perfectly.
Where the Sidewalk Ends, first published in 1974, is one of the most beloved children's books of all time. But what makes Shel's poetry so timeless and popular? His poems are often funny, and young people love Shel's type of humor.
In one poem, he told the story of a girl who refused to take out the garbage. It piled up higher and higher until it almost took over the town. Many kids have experienced the feeling of not wanting to do a chore. They love the feeling of being out of control in the book because they know that it would never happen that way in real life.
Shel also liked to play with language in his poetry. He often used skills like Alliteration in his work. Alliteration is the use of words that begin with the same sounds. In the poem about the girl who refused to take out the garbage, the character's name is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout This type of Alliteration can make poetry fun to read aloud.
In 1999, Shel Silverstein died in his home in Key West Florida: Children and adults will miss his special humor and incredible imagination. As the media's words go, "Where there is a library, there are Shel's books. "
