Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings
Shel Silverstein shook the staid world of children's poetry in 1974 with the publication  of this collection, and things haven't been the same since. More than four and a half million  copies ofWhere the Sidewalk Endshave been sold, making it the bestselling children's  poetry book ever. With this and his other poetry collections (A Light in the AtticandFalling Up), Silverstein reveals his genius for reaching kids  with silly words and simple pen-and-ink drawings. What child can resist a poem called  "Dancing Pants" or "The Dirtiest Man in the World"? Each of the 130  poems is funny in a different way, or touching ... or both. Some approach naughtiness or are a bit  disgusting to squeamish grown-ups, but that's exactly what kids like best about Silverstein's  work. Jim Trelease, author ofThe New Read-Aloud Handbook,calls this book  "without question, the best-loved collection of poetry for children."(Ages 4 to  10)