Shel Silverstein

Ok so we are still here. It's been hard to find time to do this - but tonight I HAD to find the time.

During this year at school Nate's teacher has done "Genre of the Month" as part of homework. They pick a book for the Genre that month, read it & report on it. We've all learned a lot through this particular assignment this year & it's something that I've grown to appreciate far more than I thought I would & the experience has very much been the same for Nate. This month the Genre was poetry & as part of the assignment the actual report had to only be 3 paragraphs instead of the usual 5 but they had to write a poem as part of the report. I just had to share - his poem had me screeching with laughter. The ideas that are trapped in that head of his will astound you if you've got the time. Oh how I love this kid!

First his book report:

Where the Sidewalk Ends

A book of poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein

Published by Evil Eye Music Inc. Copyright 1974, Renewed 2002

Book Report – by Nate Radeke

Like all books this book started with an introduction and this introduction was a poem written to anyone who wishes to read poems. It was a welcome and an invitation to come in to the world of Shel Silverstein. Shel Silverstein does all different kinds of poems in his books. There were some poems that were silly, sad, weird, and even ridiculous. Almost all of his poems rhyme. The rhyming made it sillier to read. I enjoyed this book very much, it was full of great poems.

One of the weirdest poems I read is called “Hungry Mungry”. Hungry Mungry is about a boy who eats everything. He eats the table, then his parents, then his house, then all the people in his neighborhood and all their houses. He ate the water tower, he ate the entire U.S. and went on to eat the world, then he ate the universe and once he did that he ate himself. A ridiculous poem I read was called “Captain Hook”, it was about Captain Hook and why he must be careful doing the things we do. For example he can’t pick his nose or he’ll rip it off his face. This poem made me go “WHAT?!” My mom’s favorite poem was “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out”. In this poem Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout wouldn’t take the garbage out, she would wash the dishes, scrape the pots and pans, cook the food, but she wouldn’t take the garbage out. Even when her dad yelled at her she wouldn’t take the garbage out. It raised the ceiling, broke the wall of the house and broke the window and then it rolled down the hall. Then it finally touched the sky. All her neighbors moved away, none of her friends would come to play and then she finally said she would take the garbage out, but then it was too late it went from New York to the Golden Gate, she met an awful fate in the garbage that she did hate, and he could not relate the fate but reminded us to always take out the garbage. A silly poem is “Recipe For A Hippopotamus Sandwich”. This poem teaches you how to make a hippopotamus sandwich, what makes it silly is how you are going to eat the sandwich.

Why I recommend this book is because of my most favorite poem “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too”. It is funny! It’s about Ickle Me, Pickle Me, and Tickle Me, three men who take a ride in a flying shoe. They fly off and are never heard from again. I think this poem is funny because of the flying shoe and the names of the three men are Ickle, Pickle and Tickle. I feel that Shel Silverstein is a good poet. His poetry makes me think that reading poetry can be great fun. I am glad I chose this book for my report. I recommend this book for anyone who loves poetry, if they like silly stuff, or like rhyming. 

Now his poem:

Good Bye

A Poem By: Nate Radeke

Good Bye

Good Bye

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too

I hope you’ll come back in that flying shoe.

Good Bye

Good Bye

Captain Hook

I hope you learned your lesson turning the pages of a book.

Good Bye

Good Bye

Hungry Mungry

I’m sorry you ate your own heiny, which might have tasted Fungry.

Good Bye

Good Bye

Lazy Jane

I hope you found that one drop of rain.

Good Bye

Good Bye

Melinda Mae

In 89 years you ate a whale, and now they call you Granny Mae.

Good Bye

Good Bye

 Shel Silverstein

Your poems are grandest I’ve ever seen.

I am grateful beyond words for teachers who love & inspire my children. We have been blessed by teachers who care, teach, love, challenge, push (and sometimes pull) our children to be the best they can be and then challenge them to be just a little better. We have truly been blessed!

To quote good ole' Shel Sliverstein  (from Listen to the Mustn'ts) 

Listen to Mustn'ts, child, listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.
      Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.