Where The Sidewalk Ends

Title: Where The Sidewalk Ends - The Poems And Drawings Of Shel Silverstein and A Light in the Attic and Falling Up
Author: Shel Silverstein   
Illustrator: Shel Silverstein  
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: 1974/1981/1996
Genre/Format: Fiction/Poetry   
Summary: These books are collections of poetry about kids and animals and other imaginings of Shel Silverstein.    
What I Think: I have loved these books since I was a kid.  The poems are just funny and so easy for kids to relate to.  Sometimes they are gross and sometimes they tell you the cold, hard truth about life, but they are still fun at the same time!  I remember having to read "Sarah Silvia Cynthia Stout" with a friend in 2nd grade.  We did a whole poetry presentation for parents and had to read our selected poem.  Peanut and I had fun reciting "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, Too" this summer.  Baby Bean loves when I tell him about "Danny O'Dare the Dancing Bear".  These books are must haves in a poetry library!!!    
Read Together: Pre-K - 12
Read Alone: 2 - 12   
Read With: Other text by Shel Silvertein; Poetry like My Dog May Be a Genius and others by Jack Prelutsky;
Snatch of Text:      Jimmy Jet And His TV Set

I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet --

And you know what I tell you is true.

He loved to watch his TV set

Almost as much as you.

He watched all day, he watched all night

Till he grew pale and lean,

From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show"

And all the shows between.

He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,

And his bottom grew into his chair.

And his chin turned into a tuning dial,

And antennae grew out of his hair.

And his brains turned into TV tubes,

And his face to a TV screen.

And two knobs saying "VERT." and "HORIZ."

Grew where his ears had been.

And he grew a plug that looked like a tail

So we plugged in little Jim.

And now instead of him watching TV

We all sit around and watch him. 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences   
Writing Strategies to Practice: Rhyme, Alliteration, Personification, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Simile, Metaphor, Irony, Characterization
Writing Prompts:  Choose your favorite Shel Silverstein poem; look at what literary device(s) he uses in the poem and then write your own poem using that same literary device(s).  
Topics Covered: Friendship, Morals, Manners, Imagination 
Translated to Spanish: No