Where the Sidewalk Ends

Silverstein, S. (2000). Where the sidewalk ends. Anniversary ed. New York, NY: Columbia/Legacy/Sony Wonder.

This is a great tool to use when teaching/working on poetry.  Where the Sidewalk Ends is full of rhymes, he used rhymes possibly because they are fun to read especially for children.  He also used repetition to reiterate the meaning of his poems. 

I would say that it has both narrative and lyric style poems.  Some of the poems are focused on one thing while others are about a sequence of events.

His poems are so full of imagery!!  As you read a given one, you can visualize it in your mind. The pictures that he drew to go with the poems capture his perspective perfectly.

This is a must have in a classroom!  


Curriculum connection: You could use this book in your elementary (probably more upper elementary  classroom by having them compare and contrast the poems in it.

Big questions:
Have them write a poem that correlates with the theme of this book.

Have a discussion about what they think the poems are mostly about and why.