Who knew that a military veteran/Playboy Magazine cartoonist could grow to become one of the most well known children’s poets? Shel Silverstein, the renowned author of “The Giving Tree”, “Where The Sidewalk Ends” and many more popular children’s books shocked everyone by his sudden change in genre in the 1960’s. He created his own writing style, uninfluenced by other poets or authors in his works, which made his books and poems become flourishingly popular. In all, Shel Silverstein’s creativity and diversity allowed him to become one of the most well known children’s authors of our time.
Shel Silverstein’s story begins September 25th, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois ("Shel Silverstein").Two years after graduating from Theodore Roosevelt High School, …show more content…
While in the Army, he became the cartoonist for Stars and Stripes Magazine, a magazine developed to provide news and information to the U.S. Military ("About Us"). After his service, Shel was hired as a cartoonist for Playboy Magazine in 1956, which later on led him to work for magazines such as Look, and Sports Illustrated ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). During his career at Playboy, he began creating his own cartoon books, such as “Take Ten” and” Grab Your Socks”. Silverstein soon branched out into music, creating his first album “Hairy Jazz” in 1959("Shel Silverstein Biography"). Although Shel was immersed in his music career, in 1963, he met book editor Ursula Nordstrom, who convinced him to begin writing children’s books ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). In the same year, Silverstein published his first children’s book, “Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back”("Shel Silverstein"). The following year, he wrote “A Giraffe and a Half” and his most popular work, “The …show more content…
He began writing as an alternative to trying to play sports or getting girls in his early teens, which may be the reason for some of his more strange themes. Though he was influenced by his environment as a boy, he never was influenced by any poets, most of which he had never even known until he was an adult and had already created his own writing style, as he had stated “I was also lucky that I didn’t have anybody to copy, be impressed by. I had developed my own style.” The only influence Shel had really experienced was in 1963 when Ursula Nordstrom had convinced him to write children’s material, though that didn’t have much of an effect on his writing style, it did force him to completely change genres ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). Shel has made several literary contributions that have earned awards, such as “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and “The Giving
Shel Silverstein’s story begins September 25th, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois ("Shel Silverstein").Two years after graduating from Theodore Roosevelt High School, …show more content…
While in the Army, he became the cartoonist for Stars and Stripes Magazine, a magazine developed to provide news and information to the U.S. Military ("About Us"). After his service, Shel was hired as a cartoonist for Playboy Magazine in 1956, which later on led him to work for magazines such as Look, and Sports Illustrated ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). During his career at Playboy, he began creating his own cartoon books, such as “Take Ten” and” Grab Your Socks”. Silverstein soon branched out into music, creating his first album “Hairy Jazz” in 1959("Shel Silverstein Biography"). Although Shel was immersed in his music career, in 1963, he met book editor Ursula Nordstrom, who convinced him to begin writing children’s books ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). In the same year, Silverstein published his first children’s book, “Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back”("Shel Silverstein"). The following year, he wrote “A Giraffe and a Half” and his most popular work, “The …show more content…
He began writing as an alternative to trying to play sports or getting girls in his early teens, which may be the reason for some of his more strange themes. Though he was influenced by his environment as a boy, he never was influenced by any poets, most of which he had never even known until he was an adult and had already created his own writing style, as he had stated “I was also lucky that I didn’t have anybody to copy, be impressed by. I had developed my own style.” The only influence Shel had really experienced was in 1963 when Ursula Nordstrom had convinced him to write children’s material, though that didn’t have much of an effect on his writing style, it did force him to completely change genres ("Shel Silverstein Bio.com"). Shel has made several literary contributions that have earned awards, such as “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and “The Giving