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Items13
1
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974)
8.2/10on Open Library
Published
Start here if you want to open to almost any page and find something you can read out loud. There’s a boy who turns into a television, a girl who eats a whale, and a pile of garbage that keeps getting bigger. The poems give you room to change pace between a quick joke and a quieter thought.
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Uncle Shelby's A giraffe and a half (1964)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
Read it to a child who likes to get ahead of the grown-up reading. A boy adds one absurd thing after another to his giraffe, and the verse keeps the growing inventory in play. Once your listener catches the rhythm, leave a little room for them to supply the next rhyme.
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The Giving Tree (1963)
8.4/10on Open Library
Published
A boy comes to a tree for apples and a place to play. As he gets older, what he asks of it changes. The simple pictures make it easy to follow, and the sadness can take you by surprise. If you’re reading it together, ask what each one gives the other and let your listener decide how that feels.
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Runny Babbit (2005)
7.0/10on Open Library
Published
The bunny rabbit becomes Runny Babbit when the sounds at the beginnings of words trade places. Once your listener figures out how the same trick gives his friends their names, you can take turns reading the silly version and saying what it means. Pick this for a child who likes hearing how words work.
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Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? (1964)
Published
A boy makes the case for the rhinoceros as a household pet, down to what it could do with your bad report card. The black-and-white drawings leave the animal’s size to carry half the joke. Give this to a child who loves drawing up rules for imaginary pets.
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Don't bump the glump! (1992)
4.0/10on Open Library
Published
This collection gives each improbable creature its own poem and picture. Silverstein’s ink and watercolor drawings make the monsters bright enough to invite a closer look. Try reading a few aloud and letting your listener invent what the next creature might look like.
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Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back (1963)
Published
Silverstein’s first children’s book gives you a lion who can do things people admire and still can’t decide what sort of creature he is. If your listener likes a longer story with a serious question tucked under the jokes, this one has both. The lion’s fondness for marshmallows keeps the fable from getting solemn.
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The Missing Piece (1976)
Published
A round creature missing a wedge rolls off to look for it. The sparse drawings let you follow the search through little changes in motion and shape. It’s a good read when a child wants room to wonder why getting exactly what you asked for can change the parts of life you liked.
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The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981)
10.0/10on Open Library
Published
The little piece sits and waits for somebody who can take it along. The Big O gives it a different idea about getting around. Start here if your listener is figuring out how to try something alone, or read it after The Missing Piece to see how the same shapes can pose another question.
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A Light in the Attic (1981)
Published
Go here when you want a poem that sounds especially good in an exaggerated voice. Try Backward Bill or the polar bear who takes up residence in a refrigerator. The attic can feel a little stranger than the sidewalk outside, with jokes that ask you to picture a whole world running the wrong way.
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Falling Up (1900)
Published
Headphone Harold and the Human Balloon can send a kid straight to the drawing table. This collection is easy to dip into when you have time for just a poem or two. If your listener likes to invent a picture before seeing the illustration, pause after a title and let them describe what they expect.
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Every thing on it (2011)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
A toilet troll and the prospect of growing down give you two ways into this collection of poems and drawings. Open it once the familiar favorites have been read to pieces. Its quick shifts between naughty jokes and tender thoughts are a good reason to let a child choose the next page.
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Runny Babbit returns (2017)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
Return to the woods when trading the first sounds of words has become part of the joke at home. The book gathers 41 poems and drawings from Silverstein’s archive, so you can pick it up for a new reading game without having to remember where the first book left off.
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