Shel Silverstein is one of the most enjoyed and popular children’s poets these days.  Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago in 1932 and 1950 he joined the U.S. armed forces.  He worked as a cartoonist for the military newspaper then after he left the army he worked for playboy and also began to write country music.  One song Shel wrote ended up becoming a number one hit recorded by Johnny Cash.  Silverstein started his career with writing and illustrating his first book Lafacido, the Lion Who Shott Back in 1963 after being told that his style of writing would appeal to children’s ears. Silverstein has since written and illustrated his three collections of children’s poetry, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), Light in the Attic, (19810, Falling Up (1996). The many different poems Shel has composed appeal to children and adults alike with a lot of zany whit and humor.  He makes impertinent poems that at everyone can relate to especially children such as about being sick or a tree house. The illustrations that Shel drawl reflect his cartoonist back ground with black and white drawings. Silverstein has also published the well known children’s prose The Giving Tree (1964) even though his main trade is poetry.  The giving tree is about a boy who wants more and more from a tree that already gives and gives. Many people take different meanings from the story line/plot some more negative than others. Feminists criticize the boy for selfishly taking from the female giving tree for his own personal gain. This is a great example of how differently each individual interprets the story. There are also some other books he has composed such as The Missing Piece (1976) and The Missing Piece Meets the big O (1981). Shel has also written numerous plays for stage and screen and is also a performing folksinger.

Resource:

John F. Savage. For the Love of Literature: Children & Books in the Elementary Years. McGraw Hill. 2000