Warmth prevails
Shel Silverstein
By The Book Ladies with special help from Desiree Holland
Special to the Morning News
Drats
by Shel Silverstein
Can anyone lend me
Two eighty-pound rats?
I want to rid my house of cats.
April is Poetry Month as declared by the Academy of American Poets, and what a great time to celebrate the life and work of one of our most beloved children’s poets, Shel Silverstein.
Inside everyone is a little kid just waiting to come out and the magical and intriguing words and illustrations in his books invite us all to come and play—read a poem, invent a poem. Have fun.
Silverstein wrote five books of poetry for children. He was born in either 1930 or 1932—he was very protective about his personal life and to this day, his exact birth year is not known. He began writing in his teens. He did not read other poets and thus was not influenced by then, rather he developed his own free-form style that has enchanted adults and children for over 20 years.
In 2005, six years after his death at the age of 68, his nephew collected poems from Silverstein’s personal collection, gathered over more than 20 years, and arranged them into a final book—“Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook.”
Silverstein’s absurd and wonderful creativity comes together in this book, full of spoonerisms, a play on words where corresponding first letters of words are transposed.
When reading “Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook” it is not necessary to read slowly in order to articulate clearly. It is more entertaining to read the short pieces in a normal way, tripping and falling over the odd words and combinations.
Runny Babbit is a timid young bunny in a bunny family who has an array of other animal friends. Runny goes to the library, eats soup, wears a hat and coat and visits Mount Rushmore, but in this rabbit’s funny home or “hunny fome” the words are a little different:
“Way down in the green woods where all the animals play
They do things and they say things in a different sort of way--
Instead of sayin’ “purple hat,”
They all say, “hurple pat.”
---
So if you say, “Let’s bead a rook
That’s billy as can se,”
You’re talking Runny Babbit talk,
Just like mim and he.
Before “Runny Babbit,” Silverstein wrote “Where the Sidewalk Ends” which contains some of his most well known poems, including “Crocodile’s Toothache,” “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too,” and “Listen to the Mustn’ts.” These poems are wonderful to read and each accompanying illustration adds to the delight of the work. He illustrated all his books with his own unique pen and ink line drawings.
During his life, Shel Silverstein made a huge contribution to the world of poetry and engages children and adults alike with his deft mix of sly, serious, wicked, giddy and sometimes just plain silly work.
Poetry Month is a great time to read, share, and appreciate poetry. Silverstein gives us a great window into the fun and frolic of poetry. So, go ahead, indulge. Grab a book by Silverstein and enjoy.
His works of poetry include Falling Up (1996), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1981), A Light in the Attic (1981), The Missing Piece (1982), The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. He won awards for all three books.
In addition to writing poetry, Silverstein also wrote books of fiction including the wonderful story of giving—“The Giving Tree,” one of the most poignant tales of all times.
The Book Ladies can be reached at 824-5343.