Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends
written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein



Like this amazing book actually needs any more praise showered on it. (Well, it's going to get it anyways, so it had better learn to live with it!) Can anyone say anything negative about this book? (well...other than the book banners, but we all know very well what humongous Delusionals they are.) Anyways, everyone's read this book (and if you haven't, then dear, I really do pity you and your lost childhood) and everyone knows how amazing it is. The second and third and fourth rereads only give you more adorable things to catch. It's funny--when I last read this book, I was much younger, and the poems that made me laugh most were the ones involving nose-picking and the like. Now, some of my reactions were the same, but others were completely different. The poem on which the title is based, Where the Sidewalk Ends, is now an amazing, new poem, as is Forgotten Language, which actually had me shed a few tears. But it's not all sentimental. SARAH CYNTHIA SYLVIA STOUT (yes, it has to be capitalized. Just doesn't have the same effect otherwise) is still as laugh-out-loud hilarious as it was when I had to memorize it for an elementary school poetry project. For Sale will still have me half shuddering, half laughing, as I remember my own brother shouting, "Sister for Sale, Sister for Sale!" after reading it. Some are just stories, some are wise outlooks on life. All of them are sure to guide children from a happy childhood into a happy adulthood, and it's one of the most worthwhile reads you'll ever find.

Rating: 5/5