Shel Silverstein

1932-1999. A singer-songwriter, cartoonist, screenwriter, award-winning children’s writer, and actor, Shel Silverstein grew up in Chicago. He started out as a cartoonist, publishing work in Playboy and the military publication Stars & Stripes, before turning to children’s books. Silverstein is the author and illustrator of numerous books, including The Giving Tree (1964), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), and Falling Up (1996). His books have been commended for their appeal to both adults and children.

Silverstein’s poems are often darkly humorous, irreverent, and populated with invented characters, such as the “Bloath” in Where the Sidewalk Ends, who dwells “[i]n the undergrowth” and “feeds upon poets and tea.” Silverstein’s poems and stories are accompanied by his simple yet energetic pen-and-ink illustrations. The Giving Tree, a fable about a lifelong relationship between a boy and a tree, has become a classic in the canon of children’s literature and has sold over five million copies.

More here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/shel-silverstein.

No Difference

daily poem, Kids Poetry, Shel Silverstein, U.S.

By Shel Silverstein. Small as a peanut,Big as a giant,We’re all the same sizeWhen we turn off the light. Rich as a sultan,Poor as a …

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Where the Sidewalk Ends

daily poem, Kids Poetry, Shel Silverstein, U.S.

By Shel Silverstein. There is a place where the sidewalk endsAnd before the street begins,And there the grass grows soft and white,And there the sun …

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Tug O’ War

daily poem, Shel Silverstein, U.S.

By Shel Silverstein. I will not play at tug o’ war.I’d rather play at hug o’ war,Where everyone hugsInstead of tugs,Where everyone gigglesAnd rolls on …

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