Poetry for Children 5903-23
Home | Shel Silverstein / Poet Study | Module1-The Poetry Environment | Poetry Break 1 | Poetry Break 2 | Poetry Break 3 | Poetry Break 4 | Poetry Break 5 | Poetry Book Review | Module 2-Major Poets | Poetry Break 6 | Poetry Break 7 | Poetry Break 8 | Poetry Break 9 | Poetry Break 10 | Poetry Book Review | Module 3: Poetry Performance | Poetry Break 11 | Poetry Break 12 | Poetry Break 13 | Poetry Break 14 | Poetry Break 15 | Module 3 Poetry Book Review | Module 4: Poetry Across The Curriculum | Poetry Break 16 | Poetry Break 17 | Poetry Break 18 | Poetry Break 19 | Poetry Break 20 | Module 4 : Poetry Book Review | Module 5-Multicultural Poetry | Poetry Break 21 | Poetry Break 22 | Poetry Break 23 | Poetry Break 24 | Poetry Break 25 | Module 5 Poetry Book Review | MODULE 6 RESPONDING TO POETRY | Poetry Break 26 | Poetry Break 27 | Poetry Break 28 | Poetry Break 29 | Poetry Break 30 | POETRY BOOK REVIEW | Contact Me | Bibliography of Poetry Books

Shel Silverstein / Poet Study

In remembrance to a great man and poet!
 
"Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark and the children, they know
the place where the sidewalk ends."
( Where the Sidewalk Ends ,the poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein)

shelbio.jpg
Available from,www.underwaterland.com/ shelbio.htm, acessed June 4,2005

Sheldon Allan Silverstein

(Bettter know as just Shel Silverstein)

Born September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Il

 Died May 10, 1999 in Key West, Fl

 

A biography of his life

 

1.                Shel was the son of Nathan and Helen Silverstein.

2.                His real name was Sheldon Allan Silverstein.

3.                He had one son, Matthew and a daughter.

4.                Shel's daughter was named Shoshanna (means Rose in Hebrew), shortened to Shanna.

5.                Shanna died April 24, 1982 of a brain aneurysm, she was 11 years old.

6.                A Light in the Attic was dedicated to Shanna, if you open the book you will see a flowerpot with a flower and her name.

7.                Shel never married. "He had a relationship with Susan Hasting."  She died June 29, 1975.(Mercier,1975)*

8.                He was a cartoonist, a songwriter, recording artist and a writer.

9.                The first cartoons Shel drew were for adult readers.

10.           He drew for the Pacific Stars and Stripes while he was a GI in Japan and Korea.

11.           "Shel Silverstein’s song, The Unicorn, was recorded and sung by the music group, The Irish Rovers." (Peacock, 2001)

12.           Other songs he has written include, A Boy Named Sue, sung by Johnny Cash and The Cover of the Rolling Stone, sung by Dr. Hook.

13.           “He performed his own songs on a number of albums and wrote others for friends, including his last in 1998, "Old Dogs," a two-volume set with country stars Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, and Jerry Reed.” (HarperCollins)

14.           “The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up have been translated into twenty languages.” (Peacock, 2001)

15.           Shel was 31 when he wrote, Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back, it was his first children’s book.

16.           Shel’s favorite books were Uncle Shelby's ABZ, A Giraffe and a Half and Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back'--"I think I like that one the most."(Kidsread.com)

17.           "It took 4 years to get one of his most popular books, THE GIVING TREE, published.  Its sad ending and appeal to readers of all ages made it difficult to categorize." (Kidsread.com)

18.           In an interview done in 1975 by Publishers Weekly, Shel was asked, “How did you decide to get into children’s books?” “I didn’t,” Shel said, “I never planned to write for kids or draw for kids.” (Mercier, 1975)

19.           Shel lived on a houseboat and had a piano and saxophone as part of his musical instrument collection.

20.           Shel died in 1999 in his apartment in Key  West, Florida. He was 69 years old.

21.           He left his son Matthew with an estate worth over 20 million dollars.

22.           In 1993, A Light in the Attic was on the challenged list at Fruitland Park Elementary School library in Lake County, Florida.  It was believed to promote, "disrespect, violence and horror".(Banned-Width 2000)

23.           Shel was not big on giving interviews, in 1975 during an interview with Publishers Weekly about his art and philosophy and what motivates him, he replied,

24.           "I have an ego, I have ideas, I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and don't care if their published...I hate to hear talk like that. If it's good, it's to good not to share. That's the way I feel about my work." (Harris, p137-143)

* Other web sites and sources list Shel Silverstein as being divorced.

 

Favorite Silverstein poems