*****
"When Shel Silverstein wrote the poem "Years From Now," he seemed to know that one day he'd be gone but that his playful words and images would still be making children happy." --NPR Staff
Generations of Americans have grown up with the poems of Shel Silverstein, a poet and illustrator, playwright, performer, and popular songwriter. Shel has inspired children to dream and venture to imagine beyond human reach, with the help of beautiful poetry and memorable characters. Shel Silverstein, was first and foremost a gifted illustrator and an imaginative cartoonist for his poetry collections: A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Falling Up. Although I was not introduced to his early works as a kid, his impressive bare art was mesmerizing before I ever knew his name.
Have you ever read a book with everything on it? Silverstein has confessed, "I never planned to write or draw for kids," at the time his popular books were translated into 20 languages, and have sold over 20 million copies! I thought the least is to leave everything in hand (on it) to meditate at the memory of his art and humility. This is a great occasion to review this fine collection of his pen, published twelve years after Shel has departed us in 1999. One hundred and thirty first timer poems and drawings created by the impressive artist and selected by his entourage.
I love his rare imaginative funny poetry:
"I asked for a hot dog, with everything on it,
And that was my big mistake, 'Cause it came with a parrot,
A bee and a bonnet, A wristwatch, a wrench, and a rake.
. . . . . . .
That's the last time I ask, For a hot dog with everything." S.S.
