Shel Silverstein; Finally, something my nine year old loves

Cafe Society
1

My wife, my eleven year old, and I are all readers. My nine year old thinks books are “boring and stupid.” There is one exception; Shel Silverstein.
She thinks his writings are the best ever. Every time she checks out one of his books, I get an over-due notice. I’m going to happily present her with my copy of Where The Sidewalk Ends (when I find it - many books here) because she’s read the library copy cover-to-cover multiple times. We went to the bookstore today, and she picked out two Silverstein books.
Who else would she possibly like? I’m looking for other stuff for her, but Shel was so…uniquely Shel that I can’t come up with other authors. Please help.

Thanks in advance - DESK

2

I always liked the Wayside School storied by Louis Sachar.

3

Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book was a favorite for me, if she hasn’t read it yet. Its less of a kids’ book, but nice and subversive.

ETA: Wikipedia actually uses that last word. Huh.

4

Thanks. I’ll check him out.

5

Never Bite A Married Woman On The Thigh

6

Maybe in some weird way, The Boxcar children, Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardy Boy Mysteries. Maybe some poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke.

7

I’d give The Little Prince a shot.

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You heard Shel’s got a “new” one? Amazon.com

9

Wow, that’s a blast from the past. Second these books. I loved 'em.

10

I loved National Velvet and Little Women around that age, though I really couldn’t understand either one - the slang, the bits of Victoriana, or even why Jo was seen as such an outlier. So scratch that, I’ll keep thinking…(and jump in here to say when Shel Silverstein passed away and I told my little girl, she broke my heart. “Oh! No more poems, mom, no more poems!” she wailed. I think we both shed a tear that day.)

11

I would think Dr. Seuss, but maybe she would feel a bit too old for that. Another possibility is Edward Gorey, but some of his stuff might be too adult for her. It’s mostly mock-Victorian Gothic black humor… Maybe you could start with The Doubtful Guest, which is relatively mild. Robert Wyatt set The Doubtful Guest to music… maybe not to your taste, but at least this video will allow you to see all the text and drawings in their original form, so you can judge what you think of the book.

A slightly more twisted tale of his is The Beastly Baby.

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Edward Gorey might also appeal, though he might be harder to find.

Edit: Cross-posted with cjepson.

And another thought: Have you tried any other poetry? Maybe it’s not Shel’s whimsy or subversiveness, but just the fact that it’s verse.

13

At that age, I enjoyed Edward Lear. He was a poet from the 19th century who wrote limericks and silly stories and poems (including “The Owl & The Pussycat”). Silly rhymes, made up words, bizarre stories presented semi-seriously… she might dig it.

His work is old enough to be public domain, I believe, and you can browse through it here and see if she’d like it. Here’s the first verse from The Jumblies:

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Daniel Pinkwater ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pinkwater+daniel&sprefix=pinkwater ) seems to hail from the same–or a similar–weird-but-benevolent universe that Silverstein does.

15

Roald Dahl might also appeal, come to think of it.

16

You might try Hillair Belloc–it may be a bit too Victorian for her but I liked The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts when I was around that age.

17

Now I remember - Jack Prelutsky! He’s written a LOT of books for kids. Maybe “A Pizza The Size of the Sun”? (these are funny poems.)

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And of all the coincidences, I just heard this on Inspector Lewis, The Mind Has Mountains.

D.E.S.K.Top668, have you tried your kid on John Bellairs? His The House With A Clock In Its Walls is wonderfully fun and slightly scary.