Shel Silverstein

I have to admit that I'm not that familiar with Shel Silverstein's work.  I do know that lots of kids love his books, many of them memorizing and reciting these each year for school assignments.  I picked up 2 of his books from the library:  Falling Up and Where the Sidewalk Ends. 

I read a bit out of each of the books, and then decided to see what else I could find out about the author before I continued.  I went to both his website as well as Wikipedia.  What some people may not know, is that Mr. Silverstein was more than a children's author. According to his biography, he wrote the song "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash, winning a Grammy for this song in 1970.  He also authored cartoons during his time in the military in Korea, extending this into cartoons for Playboy when he returned from the war.  Even during the years that he was writing his children's poetry, he was composing, singing and recording songs as well.  He was also a playwright towards the end of his life.  It's amazing the different types of media he was involved with.  He passed away in 1999 of a heart attack in Florida. 

Some of the poetry was not to my liking; however, but I found some real gems in both of the books I picked up.  For example:

Alice

She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME

And so she grew so tall, 

She ate from a plate called TASTE ME

And down she shrank so small.

And so she changed, while other folks

Never tried nothin' at all.  

From Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, copyright 2004, Special 30th Anniversary Edition, page 112. 

Putting aside grammar and spelling, this little poem could open up a discussion about taking chances in life instead of staying in the safe place.  There are many more thought provoking poems you can use to open up discussion about how a child is feeling about brothers and sisters, playing sick to stay home from school and other situations.  I would recommend that a parent or teacher read through the poems prior to reading them with a child, as there are poems and language that some parents and/or teachers might find objectionable.  All in all, I think I'd recommend his poetry and would like to have this book in my classroom should I decide to teach again.  

More books and media by Shel Silverstein can be found at Amazon.

Jack Prelutsky

Wow!  I wish I'd found Jack Prelutsky when my kids were younger! 

I read through Dog Days and The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, and skimmed through The New Kid on the Block, and found wonderful and silly poetry, and I could imagine snuggling with my son or daughter, reading through these and giggling at the imagery. 

For example: 

Cuckoo!

The cuckoo in our cuckoo clock

was wedded to an octopus

she laid a single wooden egg,

and hatched a cuckoocloctopus.

                                      from The New Kid on the Block

                                      Greenwillow Books, New York

                                      Copyright 1984, p. 19 

I giggle thinking about a cuckoocloctopus, and I'm sure my daughter would too!

In The Frog Wore Red Suspenders, there are poems that describe nature and different places in the United States, all in a very entertaining manner.  One of my favorite poems in this book is about a little boy traveling in a balloon across Texas.   This one would be great for teachers to use in the classroom, as after you have read it aloud, your class can discuss how large Texas is and estimate how long it might have taken him to travel across the state. 

Jack Prelutsky currently lives in Seattle, Washington, and has been writing poetry for over 30 years.  I visited his website, http://www.jackprelutsky.com/, and it has wonderful animation and includes poetry and pictures to read, funny letters to the writer, and ideas for parents and educators to use his poems. I highly recommend checking it out if you have moment. 

You can check out more of his work here:  Jack Prelutsky on Amazon

You know, I think I'll go catch up with my daughter and read a few of these silly poems with her.  You're never too old to laugh! 

                                                                                        

Nikki Grimes

I've never read a lot of poetry, and was pleasantly surprised by the two books by Nikki Grimes that I picked up at the library this weekend.  With vivid, beautiful pictures, Ms. Grimes poetry tells a story in each of the books I read. 

Danitra Brown Leaves Town tells of young Danitra and her friend Zuri. Both are looking forward to summer and spending lots of time playing and absolutely no time studying.  Then Danitra leaves town and Zuri is mad because all of their plans are ruined.  The poetry that follows shows how the girls spent their summer apart AND together by sharing their adventures through writing to each other. 

Oh, Brother! tells of a boy whose mother is remarried.  Using poetry, the author shows us how the boy comes to terms with his step-father and step-brother. 

I know that when I was younger, I never thought poetry was interesting.  It seemed so short and hard to understand because the story seemed so chopped up.  After reading these two stories, I can see that it is a wonderful way to tell a story and convey emotion in very few sentences.  Both of these stories left me feeling that I'd connected with the characters, and I was sorry when the tales ended.  For my first foray into poetry, this was a great choice! 

According to the biography on her website, Nikki Grimes has won many awards for her writing. With a quite eventful childhood, she began writing at a very young age.  She currently lives in California, and travels the world, giving lectures and talks as well as poetry readings. With dozens and dozens of books available, there are many to choose from to add to your library.  Take a look and see! 

Nikki Grimes's books on Amazon

My audience.

I have decided to explore poetry for parents and teachers.  I do not have a lot of background or experience in reading it, so I'm looking forward to learning about authors and books in this genre. 

New Blog

Working on a premise for my blog.  Will be back soon!