Where the Sidewalk Ends
 | |
| Author | Shel Silverstein |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Shel Silverstein |
| Cover artist | Shel Silverstein |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's poetry |
| Publisher | Harper Collins Publishers |
Publication date | 1974 |
| Pages | 309 and Aric |
Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was published by Harper and Row Publishers. The book's poems address many common childhood concerns and also present purely fanciful stories. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers Top 100 Books for Children."[1]
A 30th Anniversary Edition of the book appeared in 2004, and two audio editions (1983 and 2000) are also available.
Contents and editions
The collection contains a series of poems, including the title poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends", as well as illustrations. The author dedicated this book "For Ursula" and gives thanks to Ursula Nordstrom, Barbara Borack, Kadijah Cooper, Dorothy Hagen, Beri Greenwald, Gloria Bressler, and Bill Cole.
In 2004, a special 30th Anniversary Edition was published, which included 12 new poems. The following titles are found only in the 30th Anniversary Edition:
- The Truth About Turtles
- Oops!
- Mr. Grumpledump's Song
- Naked Hippo
- Who's Taller?
- Monsters
- Weightliftress
- Don't Tell Me
- Ten-O-Cycle
- The Unfunny Jester
- Open—Close
- Gorilla
Audio editions
Original album
The audio edition of the book was originally released as an album in 1983, which won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children. The collection is recited, sung, and shouted by Shel Silverstein himself and produced by Ron Haffkine. Released on Columbia/CBS Records, he also performed it at the 1984 Grammy Awards.
The following poems can be heard on the album:
Side A
- Invitation
- Eighteen Flavors
- Melinda Mae
- Sick
- Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too
- Enter This Deserted House
- Jimmy Jet and His TV Set
- For Sale
- Warning
- The Yipiyuk
- Crocodile’s Toothache
- Stone Telling
- Ridiculous Rose
- Boa Constrictor
- Peanut–Butter Sandwich
- Listen to the Mustn’ts
- I Will Not Hatch
Side B
- Hug o’ War
- Smart
- The Farmer and the Queen
- The One Who Stayed
- No Difference
- Wild Boar
- Thumbs
- Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out
- My Hobby
- Early Bird
- Me–Stew
- Captain Hook
- With His Mouth Full of Food
- The Flying Festoon
- The Silver Fish
- The Generals
- The Worst
- Dreadful
- My Beard
Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. 30. New York: Scholastic, 2005. 1-187.
Production
- Producer & Director: Ron Haffkine, Keith Cozart
- Engineer: jb & Danny Mundhenk & Oliver Masciarotte
- Mastering: Denny Purcell
Recorded at Bullet Recording, Nashville, Blank Tapes, New York, and in Studio D at Criteria Recording in Miami, Florida.
25th anniversary album
In 2000, the album was re-released on cassette and CD for the 25th anniversary of the book. This collection is copyrighted 1984 and 2000 by Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The collection is again recited, sung, and shouted by Shel Silverstein.
The 25th anniversary edition also contains 11 previously unreleased tracks culled from the original master tapes. They are as follows:
- The Little Blue Engine
- If I Had a Brontosaurus
- One Inch Tall
- Long-Haired Boy
- Rain
- True Story
- Hungry Mungry
- Standing
- If The World Was Crazy
- Hector the Collector
- Spaghetti
References
- ↑ National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved August 22, 2012.