Different Dances [Paperback]

Shel Silverstein (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins (1979)
• ASIN: B000WW7MKM
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

More About the Author

"And now, children, your Uncle Shelby is going to tell you a story about a very strange lion- in fact, the strangest lion I have ever met." So begins Shel Silverstein's very first children's book, Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. It's funny and sad and has made readers laugh and think since it was published in 1963. It was followed the next year by three more books. The first of them, The Giving Tree, is a moving story about the love of a tree for a boy. Shel returned to humor the same year with A Giraffe and a Half, delighting readers with a most riotous ending. The third book in 1964 was Uncle Shelby's Zoo Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies, Shel's first poetry collection, and his first and only book illustrated in full color. It combined his unique imagination and bold brand of humor in this collection of silly and scary creatures. Shel's second collection of poems and drawings, Where the Sidewalk Ends, was published in 1974. His recording of the poems won him a Grammy for best Children's Album. In this collection, Shel invited children to dream and dare to imagine the impossible, from a hippopotamus sandwich to the longest nose in the world. With his next collection of poems and drawings, A Light in the Attic, published in 1981, Shel asked his readers to turn the light on in their attics, to put something silly in the world, and not to be discouraged by the Whatifs. Instead he urged readers to catch the moon or invite a dinosaur to dinner- to have fun! A Light in the Attic was the first children's book to break onto the New York Times Bestseller List, where it stayed for a record-breaking 182 weeks. The last book that was published before his death in 1999 was Falling Up (1996). Like his other books, it is filled with unforgettable characters. Shel Silverstein's legacy continued with the release of a new work,Runny Babbit, the first posthumous publication conceived and completed before his death and released in March 2005. Witty and wondrous, Runny Babbit is a poetry collection of simple spoonerismsH, which twist the tongue and tease the mind. Don't Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies was recently reissued in 2008 after being unavailable for over 30 years. Shel was always a believer in letting his work do the talking for him--few authors have ever done it better.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humor with a dark edge, November 27, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Different Dances 25th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

These simple drawings, one or just a few per page, are some of the funniest around. Some have a macabre side, but that is always used to make a point. Others seem to radiate quiet desperation. Still others comment on the compromises people make. Some do all of the above, and more.

There's no text in these drawings, or almost none. The style is spare, even more than in "Where the Sidewalk Ends." My only complaint, and this is a very quiet one, is that that most pages hold only one drawing, and that one is small. I'm used to a lot more density, but the open, airy pages do a good job of framing Silverstein's characters, or of echoing their isolation.

One more thing - unlike the better-known Silverstein books, this one is decidedly not for the kids.

//wiredweird

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shel's wit twists the latest social idiocies, July 5, 1998

By 

Molesworth "Scurge of St. Custards" (Shel's neighborhood...Key West, Fla) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Different Dances (Hardcover)

Shel has taken his acerbic wit and marvelously torpedoed many of the adult social taboos in this wonderful PG-24 rated coffee table book. For those who only know him for his childrens' books, this will be as much of an eye-opening experience as losing one's virginity. He targets everything from blind adoration, to the pill, to suicide. For those lucky enough to have seen his recent plays, you will admire, chuckle at, and re-think your own beliefs about many important social issues...and all in rough line drawing. If you can find it, buy it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a second chance for a hidden treasure, February 2, 2006

By 

Lynn M. Schulte "the duck queen" (Vallejo, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Different Dances 25th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

i found my copy of this treasure in a used bookstore 20 years ago. when i took it to the register the clerk looked down at me and said "I wondered who would buy that thing." i can't believe how narrow minded he was! this book is the most clearly drawn picture of the human condition i have ever found. i took it to a pshych. class in college, highlighting some of my favorites. i had to bring back 3 night running because everyone wanted to read/see the whole thing. great extra credit points just for owning it. it is for adults and it will make you laugh, but it will also make you think. enjoy.