Shel SilversteinPoet, Cartoonist, Songwriter, Author…

1930-1999

About Shel:• Was a cartoonist for Stars and Stripes Magazine, Look, Sports

Illustrated, and Playboy.• Had a career in music and is famous for writing songs such as “A

Boy Named Sue” and “One’s on the Way.”• Published his first children’s book Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot

Back in 1963.• Wrote over a dozen children’s books.• Grammy winner.• Oscar nominated song-writer.• Most famous book is The Giving Tree (published

in 1964) which has been translated into over30 languages.

Illustration in Children’s Literature is important for developing a child’s imagination.

It is also a great way to attract a child’s attention, while assisting an author to tell his/her story.

“Silverstein’s poems and stories are accompanied by his simple

yet energetic pen-and-ink illustrations.”

-Poetry Foundation

Shel Silverstein uses Outline style illustrations which are cartoonish in nature. His hollow drawn images reside on white pages, with only black outlines forming each image. He often uses the blank white space by sketching lines that create an

illusion of water, ground, hills, etc. This adds a whimsical element that children have loved for decades.

Silverstein’sillustrations

are skilled and executed beautifully.

He often uses both pages, illustrating over the gutter in

creative and inventive ways.

Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back

Shel Silverstein’s first book is a humorous and wacky story about a lion who becomes the best sharp shooter in the world. It contains lessons that teach children about the importance of practice and determination, as well as never forgetting who you are or from where you came.

Silverstein also includes himself in thisstory, making Uncle Shelby a speaking, living character and friend of Lafcadio. The humor in his writing, as well as in his illustrations had megiggling aloud. I can only imagine the joy it would bring a child.

In Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back, Silverstein continues certain text in the illustrations by writing sound effects above the image to complete sentences in the illustration.

The Giving Tree

Using much less text than Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back, The Giving Tree is Silverstein’s

most famous story. Though lacking in his usual humor, The Giving Tree is a sentimental

and poignant tale of a tree and her love for a little boy. As the boy grows up, the tree

provides him with different needs. Though they aren’t as simple as when he was a child,

the tree does her best to make him happy. Once the tree has nothing left to give the boy

who is now an old man, the man asks for a place to sit and rest. The tree, now a stump, is able to

continue to give her friend exactly what he needs.

Silverstein’s books incorporate elements of fantasy with real life characters. This helps children to understand their world while still enjoying the make believe of talking animals, trees, etc.

Who wants a cheap Rhinoceros?

Published in 1964, WhoWants a Cheap Rhinoceros?is an adorable and humorous story about thepros and cons of owning apet rhinoceros.

Silverstein’s charming characters are both animated and expressive.

Silverstein’s style is unique and is easily identifiable.

His illustrations are recognizable for

their casual sketch lines and simplistic

representations of life.

Class Exercises:

• Provide several illustrations that are Shel Silverstein’s but also include other illustrator’s work. Have students identify which are Silverstein’s illustrations.

• Silverstein’s unique use of blank space is one of his defining techniques. Have students draw a scene without using additional lines to fill in ground, water, or sky.

Shel Silverstein. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2014, from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/shel-silverstein

Sheldon Allan Silverstein. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 02:09, Nov 04, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/shel-silverstein-9483912.