Silverstein's Humor Appeals To Both Adults and Kids

Even as a child, I tended to appreciate on the whole darkly funny and usually twisted stories and poetry. The darker, the scarier the work, the happier I was in the end.

In elementary school, I apparently also had some incredibly twisted teachers because they were quick to provide me with a poetic muse in the form of Shel Silverstein. Up until I was exposed to the gifted writer in 1984 or 1985 with both A Light In The Attic and Where The Sidewalk Ends I had little appreciation even for Dr. Suess. Silverstein, unlike Suess, didn’t rely solely on funny word combinations and colorful pictures. Instead the words and the pictures they in turn painted were the most striking elements. Silverstein’s stark black and white pencil illustrations certainly augmented the words but they were by no means the focus. Silverstein, even today, should be regarded as a master wordsmith. And as years pass, I suspect an increasing number of readers and critics will also come to the same conclusion.

Silverstein is very much an American artist. Even many well-read and highly educated English writers know nothing of his work. British bands including Travis have been known to recite Silverstein’s poetry on stage after (finally) discovering his work. And well before he became famous for his dark children’s stories and poetry, he was a noted Playboy illustrator. Even more impressive? Well, he was also a Grammy-nominated songwriter. Even with his many accomplishments, Silverstein is still best known as the unique creative mastermind of many poetry collections and stories—and for good reason.

His final collections before dying was 1996’s Falling Up. In the same vein of the aforementioned A Light In The Attic and Where The Sidewalk Ends, the collection (as with all of Silverstein’s work) appeals to children and adults alike. Is it for all families? Probably not, but open you heart and your mind and enjoy the words as they were intended…as free-flowing, enjoyable festivals of effervescent fun.

Falling Up contains dozens of poems with subjects as diverse as drumsticks, alligators, carrots, colds, broken feet, and stone airplanes. Each poem lasts from between just two lines to two pages…but regardless of length all of Silverstein’s works resonate with equal importance. Some are irreverent; others address adult and childhood fears, while still others are hilarious. Even if at times the words seem tasteless and perverse, they are just beneath the surface there are lessons to be learned and as with any great poetry or prose it sticks with readers.

Children will giggle (as I used to) at the direct humor and funny words while adults will join in the laugher on poems like this:

Turkey?
I only ate one drumstick
At the picnic dance this summer,
Just one little drumstick-
They say I couldn’t be dumber.
One tough and skinny drumstick,
Why was that such a bummer?
But everybody’s mad at me,
Especially the drummer.

And:

Advice
William Tell, William Tell,
Take your arrow, grip it well,
There’s the apple—aim for the middle—
Oh well…you just missed by a little

By no means are these examples an exception to the rule. Silverstein had a masterful grasp of the English language. He could take a word (like “safe” or “drumstick,”) and switch from one meaning to the next within just a single line or word. I would hazard a guess that Silverstein was one of the largest literary influences in my life as a child, and Falling Up continues in this same tradition. Aside from very conservative families, his work on the whole is incredibly necessary in any library.

Falling Up is just as good a place as any to start your exploration of Silverstein. I’ve mentioned on a few occasions his other works of poetry, but there are also plenty of works of prose most notable of which is the story of sharing and caring and selflessness The Giving Tree and The Missing Piece (and The Missing Piece Meets The Big O) a timeless homage to stopping to smell the roses. All books mentioned are highly recommended classics.

And like I said, this isn’t just for kids. I have a growing Silverstein collection gifted to me by my mother in law, an elementary teacher. Even today, I enjoy sitting down and reading through the poems and stories. Though I don’t have children yet, it is my hope that I too will be able to share my love of Silverstein with future unborn offspring.

Silverstein is a master, Silverstein is a pleasure, Silverstein is the most unique and wonderful children’s writer in recent memory.