Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings [Hardcover]

Shel Silverstein (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 20, 2004 | Age Range: 6 - 8 years

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 . . .

Come in . . . for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings is at once outrageously funny and profound.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shel Silverstein is the author-artist of many beloved books of prose and poetry. He was a cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, recording artist, and Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter.

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 30 Anv edition (January 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060572345
• ISBN-13: 978-0060572341
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (248 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Humorous
  • #14 in Books > Children's Books > Classics

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shel Was One Cool Dude.... September 8, 2005

By Ellie Reasoner

Format:Hardcover

I started reading this and other of Shel Silverstein's books when I was about four or five and to this day I have never "outgrown" him. I mean, who can? His rhymes and poems, songs and riddles, they all work for everybody with half a degree of imagination. The most cursory read of Where The Sidewalk Ends will show you not only how good/funny/imaginative/likable/silly/deep Silverstein is (sigh, was...) but you'll catch on to why he was so darn cool. This man was close personal friends with Roman Catholic Cardinals, hippies, rabbis, other poets, songwriters, and no less an icon than Hef, himself. (Shel practically lived the whole 1970's at the Playboy Mansion.) A little known fact is, Shel Silverstein even wrote a little song for his buddy Johnny Cash called "A Boy Named Sue". Ever heard of it? And of everything Shel wrote, the many books out there, I think this one MIGHT just be his best.

Or, wait...no, maybe it's The Light In The Attic.

No, no....maybe it's actually The Giving Tree....

Maybe? Maybe it was Falling Up?

I can never decide. One thing I do know and that's Where The Sidewalk Ends is Silverstein at his most awesome!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Where The Sidewalk Ends August 14, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

This book was very enjoyable. It made me laugh out loud. My favorite is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the Garbage Out! I really recommend it for everyone!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars W E L O V E T H I S B O O K !!!!!! December 5, 2007

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

I love this book!! My sister loves it too. It's because it IS a masterpiece and will forever remain one. Silverstein's rhymes and poems, songs and riddles -- they all work for everybody with half a degree of imagination. Another great book that I got as a birthday gift is Why Some Cats are Rascals, Book 2". I found it much more interesting than Book 1

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Where the Sidewalk Ends November 24, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

I don't really like poetry that much but this book made me look at poetry differently. I especially liked the poems "Invitation", "Sarah Sylvia Synthia Stout Would not Take the Garbage Out" and "Ickle me Tickle me Pickle me Too." All of these poems are hilarious favorites and I think other kids will like them too! If you're looking for a book of funny poems, I highly recommend this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Angle September 22, 2010

By Reflection Haiku

Format:Hardcover

This Special Edition is a collection of 139 poems by Shel Silverstein, originally appeared in 1974 - some short, some long and most of them are accompanied by his own drawings, overflowing with humor and heart. When asked to pick a book from a list of 40 titles, both my kids (ages 6 & 8; girl & boy) requested to read WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS and their enthusiasm attests to the warm truth that since his passing in 1999, his words, both unique and universal, still speak deeply to today's kids. Shel makes children laugh. Can you imagine a Hippopotamus sandwich? In this book not only will you read one, you will see one, too! Shel makes children think - just about everything in the most daring original way. Shel sees the world through the goofy imaginative eyes of children and his invitation to take a walk to the edge of this silly wolrd is greeted with excitement by both kids and their grown-ups.

"And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets better with age July 17, 2010

By B. Wilfong

Format:Hardcover

Shel Silverstein was a magician with words and the English language, and his linguistic dexterity is on full display in this collection. To read it to the young is to show them the possibilities of language, and in that regard these poems are necessary reading.
Like most of us, I first came across these poems in my elementary school classroom. I bought this collection a while ago, and read through it at the pace of a few poems a day. The memories that came flooding back were astounding to me.
Many have said this is a book of funny nonsense poems. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although this collection has its share of "nonsense" poems, almost every piece in this collection has some point or lesson. Poems like "Invitation", "No Difference", and "The Little Blue Engine" are profound in their simplicity and in the depth of their themes. Silverstein was also a savage satirist and there are more than a few biting pieces in this collection.
Read it to the young, but you will get something from it also!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST! March 14, 2007

By The Rothwells VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Every child should experience the genius of Shel Silverstein. His poems "speak" to children, and adults alike. To this day, this is one of our now 18-year-old son's favorite books!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shel makes me smile March 21, 2006

By Morgan Hanzlik

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed these poems as a child, and now reading them to my children gives me giggles and entertains my young ones too. These poems are unique, fascinating, creative, and always thoroughly enjoyable.