Biography of Shel Silverstein: Poet and Author of Children's Books

Author:
Nithya Venkat
Updated:
Sep 23, 2023 12:59 PM EDT

Who Is Shel Silverstein?

Sheldon Allan Silverstein, well known as Shel Silverstein, was born in Chicago on September 25, 1930.

He was an American songwriter, poet, author of children's books, musician, composer, cartoonist, and playwright. His writings ranged from being funny and irreverent to teaching a moral lesson. His writings were always accompanied by his drawings that showcased his unique style.

Children enjoyed reading his poetic verses. They were naughty and funny and appealed to a child's thoughts and imagination.

One of his books, called The Giving Tree has been translated into 30 languages. It is still one of the many books listed as the best children's book of all time.

Early Life of Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was born to Nathan and Helen Silverstein. He was very talented and started drawing and writing at a very young age.

He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1948. After finishing high school, Silverstein joined the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and further studied at Roosevelt University. He did not complete his degree at Roosevelt University and instead dropped out and joined the army in September 1953.

During his time in the army, he served on different American bases, including Korea and Japan. Many of his cartoons were published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes magazine during his term in the army. Shel Silverstein’s first book, Take Ten, was published in 1955; it was a compilation of his military Take Ten cartoon series.

Cartoon Series

Shel Silverstein decided to submit his cartoons to various magazines after returning to Chicago. His cartoon submissions were featured in Look, Sports Illustrated, and The Week. He became well-known among people when his book Take Ten was published by Ballantine Books but under a different name: Grab Your Socks in 1956.

Later on, Playboy magazine hired him as a senior cartoonist. His first assignment was to travel the world and create a travel journal. Silverstein visited New Jersey, Chicago, Mexico, London, Paris, Spain, and Africa.

In the year 1950, he published a cartoon collection called Now Here's My Plan that went on to become the best cartoon collection of the 1950s and later on became the cover of his next hugely popular cartoon series published by Simon and Schuster.

The Poet

In 1974, Shel Silverstein released his first collection of poems for children, Where the Sidewalk Ends. His poems were funny and always illustrated in black and white. In 1976, he introduced a new picture book called The Missing Piece.

The Missing Piece was a story about a circle searching for a missing wedge. When the circle finally finds the missing piece, it realizes that the whole experience of searching was a greater joy than actually having the missing piece.

After three years passed, Silverstein published another book called Different Dances. The Light in the Attic, however, was the one book that catapulted Silverstein to recognition as a great poet.

He also released another book as a sequel to his first book, The Missing Piece, called The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. This story revolved around the missing piece and was written from the missing piece's point of view.

Shel Silverstein: A profound writer
modernkiddo.com

Author of Children's Books

Shel Silverstein published his first book, Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back, in 1963.

However, The Giving Tree was the book that brought recognition as an author of children's books. The book was rejected by Editor William Cole, but it was later published by Harper Collins and became a huge success.

Beautifully written and illustrated by Silverstein, The Giving Tree is a story about a boy who visits a tree every day and keeps taking what the tree willingly gives, but as the boy grows, he wants more and more. The tree keeps giving with unconditional love, expecting nothing in return till it has nothing more to offer.

Contributions to Music and Theater

Shel Silverstein was passionate about music, and he penned many songs for other artists. Some of his songs became popular and were a hit among his fans. Some of them were:

"A Boy Named Sue" sung by Johnny Cash
"One's on the Way" and "The Unicorn" sung by The Irish Rovers
"Sylvia's Mother" and "I Don't Want to Be Alone Tonight," sung by Dr. Hook

Shel Silverstein also wrote movie scripts, such as Ned Kelly, Thieves, Postcards From the Edge, and Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?.

He also penned 100 plays, to name a few: The Lady or the Tiger Show, One Tennis Shoe, Bus Stop, Going Once, The Best Daddy, and The Lifeboat Is Sinking.

Personal Life

Shel Silverstein married Susan Hastings. They had a daughter named Shoshanna on June 30, 1970; Shoshanna died at the age of 11, unfortunately, when she was affected by a cerebral aneurysm.

He also had a son named Mathew with Sarah, but he never married her.

Silverstein won a Grammy Award for "A Boy Named Sue" in 1970. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his song "I'm Checking Out" in Postcards From the Edge. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 posthumously.

Silverstein kept writing plays, songs, and poems until his last days. He died of heart failure in Key West, Florida, on May 9, 1999.

References

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Comments

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on September 19, 2016:

grand old lady thank you, his books are great to read and am happy to know that you are a fan of Shel Silverstein.

Mona Sabalones Gonzalez from Philippines on September 18, 2016:

Shel Silverstein was certainly multi talented. I loved his book The Missing Piece, and enjoyed the movie, Postcards from the Edge. It's nice to be reminded of this man and to know him beyond his body of work. Well done.

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on May 21, 2016:

annart thank you for your visit and comment, much appreciated.

Ann Carr from SW England on May 21, 2016:

I hadn't heard of this author, though 'The Giving Tree' rings a bell. It's interesting that he wrote 'A boy named Sue'; I'd always thought that it was Johnny Cash's own!

He seems to have had a great talent for writing all sorts of things and at so many levels.

This is an interesting, informative hub.

Ann

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on March 07, 2016:

AudreyHowitt thank you for your visit and am glad you got to know about him through this hub.

Audrey Howitt from California on March 05, 2016:

This was so interesting to read--one of my favorite children's authors and I really knew nothing about him--

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on January 19, 2016:

DDE thank you for your visit and comment.

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on January 19, 2016:

Interesting and most useful indeed! You share great hubs with great lessons. I had to stop by again.

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on January 04, 2016:

ChitrangadaSharan thank you, Shel Silverstein is truly talented.

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on January 04, 2016:

Great hub and so informative!

Thank you for enlightening us about the great work of Shel Silverstein. So many talents in one man !

Well presented biography--Thanks for sharing!

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on December 24, 2015:

Nell Rose, am glad you came to know him through this hub, thank you for your visit.

Nell Rose from Buckinghamshire UK on December 23, 2015:

Fascinating! What a talented man! I had never heard of him before, but I had heard of the book, well one of the books and of course the music, thanks for introducing us to this fascinating man, nell

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on December 22, 2015:

gerimcclyn happy to meet a fan of Shel Silverstein. Thank you for reading and sharing your experiences, much appreciated.

Geri McClymont on December 22, 2015:

A very interesting biography on Shel Silverstein. The Giving Tree is a personal favorite and it was special to watch the video and hear his voice reading the story! The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O are also favorites. His stories are so deep and symbolic and I love how he does all his illustrations in black and white, which sets him apart from other authors/illustrators. I enjoyed reading his works to my students when I taught at the elementary level, and I know they enjoyed hearing them and looking at the illustrations as well. Thanks for writing this hub. It is always interesting to learn about the person behind the work!

Nithya Venkat (author) from Dubai on December 12, 2015:

suzettenaples thank you. Children love his writings and his works are amazing.