An author so singularly quirky that a posthumous collection of his work, The Runny Babbit Returns, published this year and landed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s Best Book lists. Silverstein’s name runs with The Greats of children’s poetry. “The Little Boy and the Old Man” is a gem able to put healthy tears in a few eyes.
You might think the poems lack substance until you bump into “How Many, How Much” with sweet thoughts on friendship and “Put Something In” about adding laughter to the world. Most are short and keep energetic young readers amused. Some poems are mildly gritty or shocking (“The Dragon of Grindly Grun” is a romantic about a fire-breathing dragon whose damsels end up well done). This makes them fun and tongue-twisting to read aloud. Adding to the nonsense, Silverstein disregards the dictionary and peppers poems with invented words.
Silverstein takes full advantage of that in this collection.Ī Light in the Attic opens a silly world decorated by black and white sketches that are often hilarious on their own. Children’s poetry has a rhythmic way of sticking in your mind like a catchy song.
If you dare stuff the words “poetry” and “boring” in the same sentence, you’re too young or too old (maybe too ho-hum?) to have read Shel Silverstein.
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