Silverstein, Shel

▪ American cartoonist and author

in full  Shelby Silverstein  

born September 25, 1932, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

died May 10, 1999, Key West, Florida

 American cartoonist, children's author, poet, songwriter, and playwright best known for his light verse and quirky cartoons.

      In the 1950s Silverstein drew for the military magazine Stars and Stripes while serving in Japan and Korea, and he also contributed to Playboy. He created the adult book of drawings Now Here's My Plan: A Book of Futilities (1960) before turning to works for children (children's literature). His first efforts, written under the name Uncle Shelby, included Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book: A Primer for Tender Young Minds (1961) and Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros (1964). Among his memorable characters were the protagonist in Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back (1963); the boy-man and tree in The Giving Tree (1964), his most famous prose work; and the partial circle in The Missing Piece (1976). Silverstein's last illustrated collection, Falling Up, was published in 1996.

      Silverstein, who was often compared to Dr. Seuss (Geisel, Theodor Seuss), used such locales as the land of Listentoemholler and the castle Now. His first major poetry collection, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), featured the popular title verse:

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

      His pictures more than complemented his words. Accompanying “The Edge of the World” is the drawing of a small girl peering over the edge of a ledge so thin that a fire hydrant, a dog, a signpost, and a worm protrude halfway through. The cover of A Light in the Attic (1981) shows a boy with a windowed attic forming the top of his head. The words of another poem form the neck of a giraffe.

      Silverstein often eschewed happy endings because children, he said, might otherwise wonder why they themselves were not comparably happy. He was credited for helping young readers develop an appreciation of poetry, and his serious verse reveals an understanding of common childhood anxieties and wishes. Silverstein also wrote one-act plays, sometimes working with David Mamet (Mamet, David), and songs.

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