Just for fun today, I pulled out one of my favored poetry books growing up, “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein. I had forgotten how well loved it has been. Pages were coming loose from the binder from being read over and over again, pages earmarked to identify favorite poems. I remember purchasing this book from one of those book magazines in school after reading “The Giving Tree”, “a touching story of the love of a tree for a boy”. This book warmed every part of me until it squeezed a few tears from my eyes.

What I love about the poetry of Shel Silverstein is its timelessness. Written in such a way that appeals to both children and adults, his poetry makes use of nonsense words, onomatopoeia, and humor that could brighten even the darkest day. Then there are books like “Runny Babbit” in which he experiments with placement of consonants within the poems. His poem “Runny’s Hind Keart” shows runny taking wugs and burms intide to be corm and wozy. In “Runny and Sea Poup”, Runny Babbit visits Snerry Jake to get taisin roast, but got sea poup instead. Or books that take on a more serious but silly tone such as the above mentioned “Giving Tree” and “The Missing piece” , in which a circle with a wedge missing rolls around singing a song while looking for its missing piece.

To bring myself back up to date on the happenings of Shel Silverstein, I went for a visit to his website. What fun that was! Not only did I get a list of his books, but I had the chance to watch his poems animated and read aloud. There was a section just for kids (and for kids at heart!) in which I had the challenge of testing my memory of his poems, finishing his poems from multiple choice options, and solving a cryptogram to finish a poem. It even had a section where I could “practice being a poet” by choosing words from his books. As a teacher, I immediately was drawn to his “Ideas for Teachers and Parents”. This section has activity books, a poetry classroom kit, and a classroom “event kit” to host a “Shelebration” of the re-release of his original 1964 poetry collection “Don’t Bump the Glump.”

I was very impressed with the layout of his site. Whether you are a kid, kid at heart, or just a poetry fan, Shel Silverstein’s classics are a must read. Let this site walk you through some of his timeless poems while providing you with animated clips of Shel Silverstein’s best works.