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125,302 ratings,
4.29
average rating, 3,518 reviews
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published
November 2002
(first published 1974)
by Harpercollins Childrens Books
binding
Hardcover, 176 pages
isbn
0060513039
(isbn13: 9780060513030)
description
Silly, silly Shel Silverstein. For more than 25 years, he has taken children exactly where they want to go with poetry: into the world of nonsense a...more
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avg 4.29
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
His parents did well naming him Shel.
He never did care to conform.
What would compel a guy to rebel
If everyone knew him as Norm?
He never did care to conform.
What would compel a guy to rebel
If everyone knew him as Norm?
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Read in January, 1983
recommends it for:
EVERYONE
There's a polar bear - in the fridgedare - he likes it cuz its cold in there!
I wrote a report on this in the 6th grade and I still remember that by heart. That was the year I got braces and Chris N. butted in line when we were coming in from recess and I grabbed his arm and said "No Butting!" and he turned around and punched me in the face. The braces smashed into my lip and it bled so bad! I went to the bathroom with a girlfriend (I can't remember her anymore - isn't that ...more
I wrote a report on this in the 6th grade and I still remember that by heart. That was the year I got braces and Chris N. butted in line when we were coming in from recess and I grabbed his arm and said "No Butting!" and he turned around and punched me in the face. The braces smashed into my lip and it bled so bad! I went to the bathroom with a girlfriend (I can't remember her anymore - isn't that ...more
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recommended to Austin by:
Almost Everyone
recommends it for: Everyone
recommends it for: Everyone
Every child eventually discovers the perverted old man who wrote songs for Johnny Cash, did illustrations for Playboy, appeared on the Dr. Demento show numerous times, and managed to get a few books published along the way.
For some reason, parents never seem to think this creepy old guy who was so fond of children was in any way "disturbing," something I'm continually impressed with in the "ban now, ask questions later" climate of modern culture. If there are p...more
For some reason, parents never seem to think this creepy old guy who was so fond of children was in any way "disturbing," something I'm continually impressed with in the "ban now, ask questions later" climate of modern culture. If there are p...more
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2 comments
Such an amazing book! This new addition has 12 new poems, and they fit in perfectly with our beloved favorites. The first poem, Invitation, sums the book up perfectly, and remains one of my favorite poems of all time:
Invitation
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
...more
Invitation
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
...more
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Read in January, 2007
Incredibly entertaining poems. I do a poem a week with my 2nd graders, and our current one is Melinda Mae. Let's see if I can remember it from the top of my head:
"Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae
who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could, she said she would
So she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said, 'You're much too small!'
But that didn't bother Melinda at all.
She took little bites and chewed very slow, just like a little gir...more
"Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae
who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could, she said she would
So she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said, 'You're much too small!'
But that didn't bother Melinda at all.
She took little bites and chewed very slow, just like a little gir...more
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Like the old Bugs Bunny cartoons, the humor is actually much more appealing to adults. Children will be amused and entertained and often times grow up loving this book, but re-read it as an adult if you haven't. Read it to your kids, neices, nephews, friends kids, little brothers or sisters if you need an excuse. I am getting it for my sister for her baby shower... a must for any child's library! That, and the fact that my sister IS Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout!!
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Read in April, 2008
Mommy and I are going through one poem at a time. So far I like it, but am rather confused by a few!!
6/27/08--My favorite poem so far is Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too! I love how is sounds when Mommy says it.
6/27/08--My favorite poem so far is Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too! I love how is sounds when Mommy says it.
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Read in July, 2008
The back cover of the dust jacket to Where the Sidewalk Ends describes Shel Silverstein as the author of The Giving Tree and other books of prose and poetry. The brief bio then goes on to state that Silverstein "writes songs, draws cartoons, plays the guitar, and has a good time".
Ultimately, that's what Where The Sidewalk Ends is about--having a good time. The opening invitation to the book--a poem--encapsulates the feel and the tone of the book:
If you are...more
Ultimately, that's what Where The Sidewalk Ends is about--having a good time. The opening invitation to the book--a poem--encapsulates the feel and the tone of the book:
If you are...more
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quirky yet sentimental...
honestly i had reservations about picking up this book, poetry and me not really being the closest of buddies. then of course the fact that this was supposedly meant for toddlers and such (disdainful much??).
it wasn't long before i was shown the depths of my arrogance. hopefully never again...(but who knows).
okay. to the point. i ADORED this book.
a lot of the poetry here are funny (not outright hilarious, more like plain g...more
honestly i had reservations about picking up this book, poetry and me not really being the closest of buddies. then of course the fact that this was supposedly meant for toddlers and such (disdainful much??).
it wasn't long before i was shown the depths of my arrogance. hopefully never again...(but who knows).
okay. to the point. i ADORED this book.
a lot of the poetry here are funny (not outright hilarious, more like plain g...more
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Read in January, 2002
I have loved this book since I did a performance of one of the poems (I Cannot Go to School Today) when I was in like the sixth grade or something like that. I love how she uses the space on the page to tell some of the stories as well as the words. Her work is on the same level as Dr. Suess in my mind. I need to get it from the library to read it to Nolan. He would love it. I used it for my acting classes all of the time, but I had forgotten about it until you reminded me.
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Read in January, 1985
Shel Silverstein makes me think about the nature v. nurture debate. When I was a kid I really really loved his silly poems and even more so his fascinating, messily detailed illustrations. This interest led me into cartoons and comic books as a young adult and that interest stayed with me into my teens and early 20s. Now as a grownup(?) I'm still drawn to media with a sense of playfulness and whimsy, like digital graphics and street art. Im also always amazed at how good cartoons and animate...more
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I don't remember if this is the one that had the poem about Me-Stew or the Two Headed Dog or the Bendable Posable Strechable Foldable... man or not...That might have been Light in the Attic, but Still -- good gods Shel Silverstein, your poems changed the face of my middle school world. I don't know what that means exactly, but that's okay - your poems gave me the confidence to appreciate all things zany in public. Shel Silverstein is the best of absurdism and pathos in a nutshell balanced by j...more
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Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is a great book. I've read it along time ago with my sister. She used to read me the boook when i was younger but I never used to understand everything she used to read. And I have decided to read it again because it reminded me of old times and i actually wanted to understand the poems. When I read the book it makes me happy. It is written in poetry with pictures to go along with it. There are many different poems and there are a lot thats what i...more
Read in November, 2004
I got into the Shel Silverstein craze after reading The Missing Piece Meets the Big O online. Good stuff. Fun books, some of them with good messages.
This particular book of his is a collection of poems, some with accompanying illustrations (he does both) that are "at once outrageously funny and profound." Some are just so weird, you have to laugh, or at least make a funny face because you have no idea what you just read. Some of them have messages embedded within (for examp...more
This particular book of his is a collection of poems, some with accompanying illustrations (he does both) that are "at once outrageously funny and profound." Some are just so weird, you have to laugh, or at least make a funny face because you have no idea what you just read. Some of them have messages embedded within (for examp...more
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Read in February, 2009
recommends it for:
EVERYONE
Like this amazing book actually needs any more praise showered on it. (Well, it's going to get it anyways, so it had better learn to live with it!) Can anyone say anything negative about this book? (well...other than the book banners, but we all know very well what humongous Delusionals they are.) Anyways, everyone's read this book (and if you haven't, then dear, I really do pity you and your lost childhood) and everyone knows how amazing it is. The second and third and fourth rereads only g...more
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I put this book on the list because this is the book that started it all. I taught myself to read by memorizing one of the poems in this book--an epic one for a five year old girl--"The Peanut Butter Sandwich King," I believe. My mom and my sister would read it to me every night and I learned to match the words I remembered with the characters on the page. It remains, to this day, one of my all time favorites.
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I'm sorry, this book totally creeped me out when I first came upon it. Perhaps I was too young? Later I re-read it and could see its merit, but could never quite get over the first impression. Maybe I'm suppressing some creepy memory associated with reading this. Or maybe I am not, in fact, cool.
Perhaps the fact that my hometown had hardly any sidewalks at all ... I don't know ...
Perhaps the fact that my hometown had hardly any sidewalks at all ... I don't know ...
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Read in January, 1978
i first read shel silverstein's words in playboy magazine all those years ago. then, some time later, when i became a mother, i read The Giving Tree while standing in a bookstore. i had to have it and knew i would pass it along to my then very young daughter. next, as she progressed through her elementary school years, i turned her on to shel's poetry works, the first of which was "Where the Sidewalk Ends." i'm not certain who enjoyed it more but i think it was a toss-up. i still ...more
I loved loved loved this book and a few of his others. I think Shel Silverstein is a must for anyone with kids (or like me just loves him)!!
I can to this day recite most of Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout could not take the Garbage out ;) still makes me giggle!!!
I can to this day recite most of Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout could not take the Garbage out ;) still makes me giggle!!!
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quotes from this book
"So I'm all of love that could make it today."
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