#14 – Every Thing on It

Every Thing on It

Written by: Shel Silverstein

Illustrated by: Shel Silverstein

HarperCollins

2011

195 Pages

Poetry Book

Every Thing on It is a collection of silly poems that are aimed at making children laugh. The poems are all different styles and use different techniques. His poems use a ton of exaggeration and fictional events. For example, “Everything on it” is about a boy who orders a hotdog and literally gets a pile of everything on top of it. His writing style is very casual and informal. His poems sometimes tell stories, and sometimes they are just simple, short phrases.

            Shel Silverstein’s illustrations are simple line drawings. They appear like they are done with just an ink pen. The thin lines appear messy and jagged. They promote action and energy that follows his poem’s themes. The pictures are detailed and made up of a lot of small parts. The illustrations are very humorous and compliment the subjects of each poem. The pictures range from small to very large pictures.  

            I think that Shel Silverstein’s poetry books would be great in older elementary classrooms. This book would be great for motivating children during poetry lessons. Teachers could pull specific poems out to use for different lessons. His poems are funny and silly, so children would enjoy them. It is also a good book to keep in the class library. Children could read them on their own and become more interested in poetry.

Years From Now

Although I cannot see your face

As you flip these poems awhile,

Somewhere from some far-off place

I hear you laughing and I smile

-Shel Silverstein