Shel Silverstein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shel Silverstein
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| Born | Sheldon Allan Silverstein September 25, 1930 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | May 10, 1999 (aged 68) Key West, Florida |
| Resting place | Westlawn Cemetery Norridge, Illinois |
| Occupation | Author Poet Cartoonist Songwriter Playwright |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Children's fiction Black comedy Playwright |
| Notable works | Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) The Giving Tree (1964) "A Boy Named Sue" (1969) |
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Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and a children's author who is mostly known for his children's book The Giving Tree. He has won two Grammy Awards.
Although he’s most known for his children’s poetry, he also was good at many other things. In the 1950s, while he was serving in the U.S. armed forces, Silverstein drew cartoons for the Pacific Stars and Stripes, an American military newspaper.
Shel Silverstein also wrote plays. It was Ursula Nordstrom, a book editor, who suggested that he should write for children.
Career
Silverstein’s first book of poetry, Don’t Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies, was published in 1964. He’s most well-known for his books A Light in the Attic, The Giving Tree, and Where the Sidewalk Ends. He has been compared to other writers, like A. A. Milne, Edward Lear, and Dr. Seuss. Shel Silverstein won multiple awards for his children’s poetry books. Where the Sidewalk Ends won the Michigan Young Readers’ Award in 1981, and Silverstein also won the George C. Stone Center for Children’s Books Award twice in 1984. Two books of poetry were published after Shel Silverstein’s death, Runny Babbit and Every Thing on It.
Songs
Silverstein also had success writing songs. Some of his poetry was based off of songs he had written.
As a songwriter, Silverstein wrote the 1969 Johnny Cash track "A Boy Named Sue", which peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. That same year Silverstein also recorded it as a single on an album on RCA Records. It was produced by Chet Atkins.
His songs have been recorded and popularized by a wide range of other acts including Tompall Glaser, The Irish Rovers and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. He received two Grammy Awards as well as nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards.
He wrote Tompall Glaser's highest-charting solo single "Put Another Log on the Fire", "One's on the Way" and "Hey Loretta", and "25 Minutes to Go", sung by Johnny Cash, about a man on death row with each line counting down one minute closer.
He wrote the lyrics and music for most of the Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show songs on their first few albums, including "The Cover of "Rolling Stone"", "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball," "Sylvia's Mother", "The Things I Didn't Say" and "Don't Give a Dose to the One You Love Most".
He wrote many of the songs performed by Bobby Bare, including "Rosalie's Good Eats Café", "The Mermaid", "The Winner", "Warm and Free", and "Tequila Sheila". He co-wrote with Baxter Taylor "Marie Laveau". The third album by Tompall Glaser contained eight songs by Silverstein and three by Silverstein and others.
In addition, Silverstein wrote "Hey Nelly Nelly", a 1960s-era folk song recorded by Judy Collins. Silverstein composed original music for several films. He played the guitar, piano, saxophone and trombone.
Personal life and death
Sheldon Allan Silverstein was born into a Jewish family in Chicago on September 25, 1930.
He grew up in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, where he attended Roosevelt High School. He then attended the University of Illinois, from which he was expelled. He enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, which he was attending when he was drafted into the U.S. Army; he served in Japan and Korea.
Though never married, Silverstein fathered two children, Shoshanna Jordan Hastings (June 30, 1970 – April 24, 1982) and Matthew De Ver (born November 10, 1984). Shoshanna died of an aneurysm at age 11, and the book A Light in the Attic is dedicated in her memory. Silverstein died at his home in Key West, Florida, of a heart attack on May 10, 1999, at the age of 68.
He died in Key West, Florida on May 10, 1999 after having a heart attack. He was 68 years old. However, Silverstein’s great poetry is still enjoyed today.
Images for kids
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"Now here's my plan...", Shel Silverstein's best known cartoon of the 1950s, became the title of his 1960 cartoon collection.
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Ballantine Books published Shel Silverstein's 1956 collection of cartoons from Pacific Stars and Stripes, foreword by Bill Mauldin
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The Rising Sun Performance Company's production of "The Lifeboat is Sinking", from An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein
See also
In Spanish: Shel Silverstein para niños
