Silverstein, Shel. Every Thing On It: Poems and Drawings. New York: Harper, 2011. ISBN: 9780061998164
Twelve years after his death, Shel Silverstein’s
family has compiled never before released drawings and poems. Anyone familiar
with Silverstein’s talent and humor will find his posthumous contemplation just
as odd, gross and hilarious as his other works. Every Thing On It includes 145 poems in all. Silverstein rejected
these pieces from his earlier publications as they did not fit the tone he was
trying to achieve in prior works.
The collection is arranged with a single poem taking
up a page or a two page spread accompanying one of Silverstein’s black and
white drawings. His use of figurative language makes the collection one that stimulates
fun, as the use of play on words creates a laughing good time.
In
Her…
In her mink coat
And her buckskin pants
And her lizard skin boots
With the rattlesnake bands
And her beaver hat
With the raccoon tails
We heard her shoutin’…
SAVE
THE WHALES
Included in the book is an index, making it easier
for readers to locate particular drawings. The book's opening, dedicated “For
You” and the final poem, “When I’m Gone” causes the reader to reflect on the author,
his other works and the part each has played in our lives.
When teaching about plagiarism/cheating to
elementary students I would begin the lesson with a reading of Silverstein’s
poem titled,
The
Problem.
Jim copied the answer from Nancy
Sue copied the answer from Jim
Tim copied the answer from Sue, and then
Anne copied the answer from him
And Fran copied Anne and Jan copied Fran
The answer kept passing along
And no one got caught, but the problem was-
Nancy had it wrong.
Discussion could continue about the importance of
doing one’s own work and giving credit to those we get information from.
