Poet Shel Silverstein’s “Where The Sidewalk Ends” continues to enchant children and adults alike four decades after its original publication. The lighthearted, whimsical poems ably transport its audience to a fantastical world of talking animals, imaginative possibilities, and gravity-defying feats. Silverstein’s book has become an integral part of childhood and adolescence, teaching young readers to not take life too seriously. With comedic wit, he presents slices of life remarkably free of judgment, imparting the timeless wisdom that readers can be as imaginative and creative as they like.
Silverstein wrote “Where the Sidewalk Ends” as a celebration of the creative possibilities of life. The poems are abecedarians, meaning that each poem starts with a specific letter of the alphabet. This allows Silverstein to craft beautiful images and metaphors that linger in readers’ minds. The imagery of the book, from “potato people” to “Halloween trees,” will remain with readers for years to come. For many children, this book is the doorway to verse and a lifelong appreciation for the written word.
Rebecca Ungarino, literature editor at Education.com, speculates that the poems’ playful nature, as well as their cleverness and deft wordplay, have made them so beloved by future generations. “Where The Sidewalk Ends” is a book that revels in its own silliness, full of relatable humor, and open-ended questions that make readers ponder their own lives,” Ungarino says. “It relieves the pressure of the everyday world and invites children to live in the present and explore their own imaginations.”
Though some of the illustrations are outdated, the underlying messages of “Where The Sidewalk Ends” have proven to speak to every generation. Ungarino believes that the simplicity and power of Silverstein’s work is why the book has had such a lasting impact. Silverstein himself often blurs the lines between childhood and adulthood. While Silverstein uses certain phrases and language that children will understand and relate to, he also includes references that more sophisticated readers will recognize.
In the book‘s nature poems, Silverstein gives readers lessons in natural history. These and other poems often lead readers to ponder the connections between humans and the spiritual / natural world. “Without overt messaging, Silverstein forces readers to reflect on their own lives, as well as to empathize with the lives and experiences of others,” Ungarino writes.
Silverstein often comes up with ideas and humorous scenarios that children never would have considered, such as a man with a pole-vault for a head or a family of porcupines that likes to roller skate. Through these scenarios, Silverstein is able to communicate valuable lessons without having to lecture to his audience. “Where The Sidewalk Ends” summarizes the surreal beauty of life and allows readers to question, explore, and express themselves through both funny and melancholy poems.
Illustrations
Leo and Diane Dillon, who handled the original illustrations for “Where The Sidewalk Ends,” were an award-winning African-American husband-and-wife illustration team, famed for their innovative use of acrylic paint and computer graphic design. Their eclectic and vivid images fit perfectly with Silverstein’s surreal poetry. As renowned children’s author Jan Fields writes, “Dillon’s illustrations gave Shel’s uniquely goofy poetry a visual lifeline, allowing budding readers to peek in and out of the characters’ and the animals’ lives.”
In making the illustrations for “Where The Sidewalk Ends,” the Dillons hoped to “involve readers in the action of the story” and give them a sneak peek at “the persona and emotions of the characters.” Poet and wall painter Edward Field, who worked with the Dillons on other projects, reflects the sentiment of many when he states: “Leo and Diane were producing art that was keeping alive the essence of actual, physical creativity while at the same time taking into consideration the emerging computer age … They were on their own, producing amazing illustrations.”
The Dillons’ illustrations were as essential to the success of “Where The Sidewalk Ends” as Silverstein’s poems. Without their surreal and vivid imagery, children may not be as captivated by the book as they are today.
Themes
One of Silverstein’s key propositions in “Where The Sidewalk Ends” is that life should not be taken too seriously. To make a stronger point, Silverstein often flips traditional concepts of authority upside down. In “The Boa Constrictor”, the snake is actually in charge of the zoo, and tells visitors to “pay no attention to that crowd!” In “Smart,” a 5-year-old genius finds an acorn in a classroom and quickly scolds the teachers. He is equally bossy with his parents in “My Parents Kept Me from Children Who Were Rough.”
Silverstein’s poems also use traditional fairy tale motifs to delight his audience. In “Unicorn,” the narrator poetically recounts the fate of a one-horned horse and uses a traditional basis for the lyrics. A similar approach is taken in “Sod of Sod,” in which the narrator recalls a family of five headed by a father who discovers “pirates’ gold-a-plenty” in his field of clover. In “The Voice,” the protagonist is an ordinary boy who walks through a snow-filled forest in search of an enchanting singing voice.
In some of these poems, Silverstein also uses language cleverly to challenge readers’ expectations of traditional fairy tales. In “The Little Boy and the Old Man,” the narrator tells the age-old story, then concludes, “But all the stories are alike/You know what they say…”, adding a humorous and unexpected ending. In “The Dream,” the narrator tells of a man who dreamed he was a boy, catching an alligator and being about to watch a horror film. In many of his poems, Silverstein combines childhood memories and content, then adds a unique twist.
Parameters of Imagination
Silverstein encourages readers to explore the limits of their own imaginations. In “Listen to the Mustn’ts,” Silverstein identifies some of the more restrictive aspects of society for children, then encourages them to ignore these rules. Silverstein promotes imagination in “Sick,” too, in which he recounts a sickboy’s imaginative attempt to cure himself. In “Dance,” Silverstein almost unquestioningly suggests that readers should ignore the “wrong thing” that others are trying to teach them and instead allow their imaginations to take over.
The Dillons also express the theme of imagination in their illustrations. For example, in “Listen to the Mustn’ts”, they use a light bulb hanging from a string to illustrate the idea of an imaginative lightbulb going off in one’s head. The illustrations for “Sick” and “Dance” also reflect the importance of imaginative power. In both cases, the illustrators show children engaged in their own “emotional theater” – the boy in “
