Where the Sidewalk Ends

Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends 

Author: Shel Silverstein 

# of Pages: 183

Published by: HarperCollins Publishers

Age Range: 6-8 (but could be read to any age)

This book is full of Shel Silverstein's fun poems. With each turn of a page, readers do not know what the next page might bring. Poems range in topics from unicorns to taking the garbage out. 

Throughout the book Shel Silverstein uses rhyming words to make the poems flow and provide great reading rhythm. Silverstein has a unique style because he wanted all of his work in black in white. However, the images truly add to the story and give students some wacky visuals. Some of his poems use a unique shape and are written in a shape that is the theme of the story. The poems throughout this book are pleasing to the ear. Some are short, and some are long, however, they capture the reader's attention very quickly. Students should be able to relate to many of these poems because their content is about every day happenings; however, some may be a little exaggerated! This poetry collection uses a lot of humor and wordplay to catch the reader's attention. I would use this book in my classroom for students to enjoy poetry, and also for a Shel Silverstein Unit!

Here are some poems from the book! 

This is a video of what one student did as a poetry project in school.

Some classroom activities could include: 

• Where the sidewalk ends Story Blanks 
• There are many activity guides such as this on Shel Silverstein's website
• Mini lesson on poetry 
• Mini Lesson on Rhyming 
• Have students act out a poem
• Have students write their own poems
• Talk about the title and why it's named that