Don't Bump the Glump!

Starred review from March 3, 2008
Back in 1964—the same year that his Giving Tree
was published—
Silverstein's first poetry collection appeared; it was also his only children's book to contain full-color art. Reissued in a slightly larger trim size, this collection of 45 poems tours readers past imaginary creatures, beginning with a being that looks remarkably like a fedora but for the jaw subtly poking below one side of the brim and the four tiny feet beneath: “This is the Quick-Disguising Ginnit./ Didn't he have you fooled for a minute?” There's no question that the intensity of Silverstein's watercolor palette adds to the fun: the gradations in the hat, for example, distract from the “ginnit” details; more typically, they supply a punch that complements the puckish but simple shapes of Silverstein's silly beasts (“The Pointy-Peaked Pavarius,/ A creature most gregarious,/ Who's never taken serious,/ Poor thing”). “Silly” doesn't mean unsophisticated, by the way: most of the work was first published in Playboy
. All ages.

July 1, 2008
Silverstein's first volume of poetry (the only one he illustrated in color) is characterized by the same absurd humor that defined his oeuvre. The nebulous monsters that accompany each poem are grotesque without being scary or horrifying. Some poems are a little clunky, but the zinger last lines in stronger works could force a smile on the most humorless of readers.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2015

K Up-Several classic tales from Silverstein are celebrating anniversaries, most notably The Giving Tree, still popular at 50. Though this spare but tender allegory for the parent/child relationship still occupies a celebrated place on bookshelves, it's a divisive title, with some critics finding the boy selfish and narcissistic and others even positing that the work represents our destructive relationship with nature. Other new releases employ Silverstein's trademark humor, such as Lafcadio, a laugh-out-loud tale of a sharpshooting lion, now in its 50th year. Dreamers, wishers, liars, hope-ers, pray-ers, and magic bean buyers are in for a treat: Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein's funny, lyrical, and downright bizarre poetry collection, turns 40, and this newest edition contains 12 extra poems. At 50, A Giraffe and a Half and Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? have yet to show their age; these picture books are ridiculous in all the best ways. Finally, meet the Wild Gazite, the Pointy-Peaked Pavarius, and the Long-Necked Preposterous, in Don't Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies, Silverstein's first poetry collection-and the only one in full color-whose arresting wordplay and images are wonderfully disconcerting.

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