New Shel Silverstein Book

I don't know about you, but I was a huge Shel Silverstein fan growing up. The Giving Tree will remain one of my all-time favorite books. I remember sitting in bed amongst overstuffed pillows and animals with my copy of Where The Sidewalk Ends, reading aloud, and his clever poems bringing my imagination to life.

Thus, I was ecstatic to stumble upon his new book last night!

I immediately scooped it up and ran to the nearest register like a little kid who just discovered her beloved toy wasn't actually discontinued.

from Amazon's interview with Silverstein's longtime editor, Toni Markiet:

Q: Shel passed away in 1999 but more than ten years later you’re publishing Every Thing On It, which includes tons of his never-before-seen poems and drawings. Can you tell us how this project came to be?
Markiet: Over the years, Shel continued to write and draw and work on poems. He left a rich archive of finished material. In the past few years, the Silverstein family has allowed us to unveil some of these in special editions of both Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. The response was so amazing that the family felt it was now the right time to publish this book.
 
Boy was I in for a treat. I climbed in bed late last night and read out loud with a big ol' goofy grin on my face!

"A spider lives inside my head

Who weaves a strange and wondrous web

Of silken threads and silver strings

To catch all sorts of flying things,

Like crumbs of thought and bits of smiles

And specks of dried-up tears,

And dust of dreams that catch and cling

For years and years and years . . ."

-Shel Silverstein

Buy your copy here. (It'd make a great present!)

"Although I cannot see your face 

As you flip these poems awhile, 

Somewhere from some far-off place 

I hear you laughing--and I smile."

-Shel Silverstein

until next time,

g