The Sidewalk Never Ends (Shel Silverstein)
English 1113
5 November 2013
Word Count: 718
The Sidewalk Never Ends “Let us make a pair of pants for the poor old hippopotamus, to cover his hide – once we decide exactly how big his bottomus.” This short, humorous poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of the many unique and entertaining works of Shel Silverstein, a poet, author, artist and musician. As a child, I grew up reading books by Silverstein, including A Light in the Attic and The Giving Tree. I was excited to set out to find information about one of the authors that shaped my love for books at an early age. In order to find sources, I started at the UCO Library website. I went to the Articles/Databases page and chose to search using Academic Search Complete. Since I wanted as many results as possible, I clicked on Choose Databases and selected them all. I typed “Shel Silverstein” in the search bar and limited the results to Full Text, so I could read all of the information online. Through these search criteria, I found many useful and reliable sources on the first page. Because I saw decent results, I simply scanned through the results on the first three pages and found exactly what I needed. While reading through this information, I learned a great deal of information about Shel Silverstein, the beloved author. Sheldon Alan Silverstein was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1930. Silverstein described his youth as uncomfortable, and because of his awkwardness, he spent a lot of time alone writing and drawing (Means). Silverstein never intended to be a writer or artist, but his talents continued as he grew older. His career actually began with entertainment for adults in 1952 when he was a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine; he later illustrated for Stars and Stripes, a publication of the U.S. Army, while serving in Japan and Korea (“Kid’s Author Shel Silverstein Dies”). These experiences were just the beginning of his future in entertainment. In 1963, Silverstein wrote and illustrated his
5 November 2013
Word Count: 718
The Sidewalk Never Ends “Let us make a pair of pants for the poor old hippopotamus, to cover his hide – once we decide exactly how big his bottomus.” This short, humorous poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of the many unique and entertaining works of Shel Silverstein, a poet, author, artist and musician. As a child, I grew up reading books by Silverstein, including A Light in the Attic and The Giving Tree. I was excited to set out to find information about one of the authors that shaped my love for books at an early age. In order to find sources, I started at the UCO Library website. I went to the Articles/Databases page and chose to search using Academic Search Complete. Since I wanted as many results as possible, I clicked on Choose Databases and selected them all. I typed “Shel Silverstein” in the search bar and limited the results to Full Text, so I could read all of the information online. Through these search criteria, I found many useful and reliable sources on the first page. Because I saw decent results, I simply scanned through the results on the first three pages and found exactly what I needed. While reading through this information, I learned a great deal of information about Shel Silverstein, the beloved author. Sheldon Alan Silverstein was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1930. Silverstein described his youth as uncomfortable, and because of his awkwardness, he spent a lot of time alone writing and drawing (Means). Silverstein never intended to be a writer or artist, but his talents continued as he grew older. His career actually began with entertainment for adults in 1952 when he was a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine; he later illustrated for Stars and Stripes, a publication of the U.S. Army, while serving in Japan and Korea (“Kid’s Author Shel Silverstein Dies”). These experiences were just the beginning of his future in entertainment. In 1963, Silverstein wrote and illustrated his
Cited: Brodie, Carolyn S. "”The Giving Tree” By Shel Silverstein—A Forty-Five Year Celebration." School Library Monthly 26.1 (2009): 22. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). PDF File. 2 Nov. 2013. "Kid 's Author Shel Silverstein Dies." AP Online (1999): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. Means, Richard. "Shel Silverstein." Shel Silverstein (2005): 1-3. Book Collection Nonfiction: High School Edition. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. Photograph of Shel Silverstein. N.d. School Library Monthly 26.1 (2009): 22. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). PDF File. 2 Nov. 2013.