Shel Silverstein's Poetry

Shel Silverstein's poems are written for more than just reading for children; he wrote them for connection and inspiration.[Along with everyone], Silverstein had many emotions, some good some bad. Many of his poems go deeper than just what children gather from them. They provide an emotional atmosphere. He made a career out of writing and drawing with little successes.

Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. He had an easy-going life as a young child, but came to find out that he couldn’t play ball. In result of that, he started drawing and writing. He was an American cartoonist, children’s author, poet, songwriter, and playwright. He wanted people to get more out of his work than just words. “He himself once

The Giving Tree, featuring a boy and a tree growing, is one of the most talked about children’s book. It was published in October 1964. Next to be published, in 1974, was Where the Sidewalk Ends. This book was Silverstein's first collection of poetry. He continued to release more children's titles when the 70’s ended such as A Light in the Attic(1981). Silverstein slowly became famous by individual successes.

Shel Silverstein has many themes throughout his poems. One of his poems was about people telling him to do something and him responding “Just let me see YOU do it.” This poem, Don’t tell me, has the theme of difficult times. The next poem is The Voice. Self-confidence is the theme that it has. Nobody else can make his decisions for him. He has to know what decisions are best for him. Last is a poem that is called Happy Endings. It contains the theme of sadness. Silverstein clearly states in it that there are no happy endings but happy starts.

In conclusion, Shel Silverstein was more than just an American cartoonist, children’s author, poet, songwriter and playwright. He was an inspirer, a reminder of a child's imagination and an eye-opening person overall. He succeeded with many great works. Shel Silverstein's poems are written for more than just reading for children; he wrote them for connection and