Where the Sidewalk Ends

Bibliographic Info: Silverstein, S. (2004). Where the Sidewalk Ends. Illus. Shel Silverstein. New York, New York: Harper Collins.

Annotation: This book holds over 180 pages of poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein. Most of the poems are extremely short but so cute and funny. Some make absolutely no sense at all and that just adds to the silliness of them. The drawings that accompany the poems are some of my all time favorites.

Genre: Comical/Children's Poetry

Grade Level: 3-6+

Readers who will like this book: Children of all ages will like the poems in this book. I think many emerging readers will enjoy the simplicity of some of the poems. It is a big book, but I think they would feel comfortable taking it just one or two poems at a time until confidence is built. Kids with a good sense of humor will love to read this or be read to.

Personal response: I really like all of Shel Silverstein's books. I own quite a few and I can still go back after years and laugh at the poems and pictures. The whole book has an upbeat tempo that keeps readers wanting to read another poem. I rate this book at a 4... I am not one to get wrapped up in poetry, but I can manage this. :)

A question you would ask before reading: It depends on the poem or poems being read. You can ask a goofy question "What would you do if you were an inch tall"... (for One Inch Tall) or even ask a question regarding a child's knowledge of poetry. Have you ever read a poem? Written a poem?

Reading Strategies Connection:
a). Poetic responses
b). A poetic response encourages children to write poetry in response to the literature read. Students are able to explore and express their understandings and feelings about a reading selection.
c.) This would be a great strategy for children of any age to create their own silly poem in response to those read in Where the Sidewalk Ends. Silverstein has such a huge array of poetry that it would be exciting for a child to make one poem (or several) of their own to share. They could write a response to a chosen poem or make one up entirely from scratch. It would get their artistic juices flowing.