A spider lives inside
my head Who weaves a strange and wondrous web Of silken threads and silver
strings To catch all sorts of flying things,
Like crumbs of thought and bits of smiles And
specks of dried-up tears,
And dust of dreams that catch and cling For years
and years and years . . .
Have you ever read a
book with everything on it? Well, here it is, an amazing collection of
never-before-published poems and drawings from the creator of Where the
Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up. You will say Hi-ho for the
toilet troll, get tongue-tied with Stick-a-Tongue-Out-Sid, play a highly
unusual horn, and experience the joys of growing down.
What's that? You have a
case of the Lovetobutcants? Impossible! Just come on in and let the magic of
Shel Silverstein bend your brain and open your heart.
I read Silverstein’s
first book, Where The Sidewalk Ends, when it was first published. I was
fascinated, and even memorized some of my favorites (like Sarah Cynthia Sylvia
Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out—love it!). When A Light In The Attic and Falling
Up came out, I snatched up those books and devoured them, too. But they didn’t
have the magic that Where The Sidewalk Ends had. I’m not sure why, or even what
was missing, but something was definitely missing.
When Every Thing On It
appeared on the shelves, I was skeptical. Still, I got this book for my boys
this past Christmas and we’ve been reading it out loud off and on. Let me just
say that the magic is back! There are some poems that make me laugh out loud,
like I Didn’t, Dumb, and The One Who Invented Trick Or Treat. This book is
chock full of fun.
My kids are having the
same experience I had as a kid, and have marked their favorite poems. They’ve
even memorized a few. It warms my heart. :)
So, if you liked Where
The Sidewalk Ends, you’ll love Every Thing On It.
7 comments:
I need to get both of these for my daughter. Thanks for the reminder.
I just finished Where The Sidewalk Ends few days ago. Loved Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout, Melinda Mae and more! I'd love to check Every Thing On It out soon. Thanks for reminding me about this. :)
Claudine
http://www.carryusoffbooks.com/blog.html
I'm glad to hear he got his magic back!
This was one of the first paper books I have bought in a long time. Reading it was nostalgic in an almost deja-vu sort of way.
The illustrations were so much fun, too. I'm glad your kids liked it!
Shel was a mega-talent. Uncommon in more ways than one…
Kelly - your kids will love them. :)
Claudine - I used to walk around everywhere reciting Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout as a kid, especially on road trips. :) Every Thing On It has a few poems worthy of incessant recitation. :)
Catherine - me too! And reading this to my kids has been magical, too. :)
Tere - definitely! The illustrations are half the enjoyment, especially for poems like Dumb (if you didn't see the accompanying illustration, the poem wouldn't make any sense). :)
Mirka - he sure was. I'm glad we got one more gem from him.
I haven't picked this book up yet, but I would be interested in reading it.
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