Galileo
SILVERSTEIN, Shel, full name SHELDON ALLAN SILVERSTEIN (1932–99), American writer, renowned for his poetry and drawings for children, also a cartoonist, composer, lyricist, and folksinger.
Silverstein was born on Sept. 25, 1932, in Chicago. He had little formal education, but started writing at a young age. He served in the military in Japan and Korea during the ‘50s and was a cartoonist for the military newsletter, Pacific Stars and Stripes. In 1956 he began a lifelong association with Playboy magazine as a contributor of cartoons and poems. The success of his book The Giving Tree in 1964 propelled Silverstein to notoriety as a children’s author. This simply illustrated book, somewhat enigmatic in message, was hailed as a poignant inspirational parable and became a best seller. He wrote eight more books for children, including poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), and Falling Up (1998), and stories such as A Giraffe and a Half (1964) and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981). The first of these was one of the best selling hardcover books of all time, and a recording of Silverstein reading it won a Grammy Award in 1984. In 1979 he published a cartoon coffee-table book for adults, Different Dances. He is somewhat less well known for his songs, which include Johnny Cash’s 1969 hit, “A Boy Named Sue,” and for his plays, the most notable of which is The Lady or the Tiger (1981).
Silverstein believed that children prefer to be treated not as innocents, but as similar to adults. His poems for young readers, often hilarious, may be sensitive and wistful, but are also candid enough to suggest a dark side. His work has been translated into 20 languages.
Silverstein died on May 10, 1999, in Key West, Fl.
"SILVERSTEIN, Shel." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.
Silverstein was born on Sept. 25, 1932, in Chicago. He had little formal education, but started writing at a young age. He served in the military in Japan and Korea during the ‘50s and was a cartoonist for the military newsletter, Pacific Stars and Stripes. In 1956 he began a lifelong association with Playboy magazine as a contributor of cartoons and poems. The success of his book The Giving Tree in 1964 propelled Silverstein to notoriety as a children’s author. This simply illustrated book, somewhat enigmatic in message, was hailed as a poignant inspirational parable and became a best seller. He wrote eight more books for children, including poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), and Falling Up (1998), and stories such as A Giraffe and a Half (1964) and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981). The first of these was one of the best selling hardcover books of all time, and a recording of Silverstein reading it won a Grammy Award in 1984. In 1979 he published a cartoon coffee-table book for adults, Different Dances. He is somewhat less well known for his songs, which include Johnny Cash’s 1969 hit, “A Boy Named Sue,” and for his plays, the most notable of which is The Lady or the Tiger (1981).
Silverstein believed that children prefer to be treated not as innocents, but as similar to adults. His poems for young readers, often hilarious, may be sensitive and wistful, but are also candid enough to suggest a dark side. His work has been translated into 20 languages.
Silverstein died on May 10, 1999, in Key West, Fl.
"SILVERSTEIN, Shel." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.