Every Thing on It

This posthumous collection of Silverstein's poems and illustrations is not only familiar in design, but chockfull of the whimsical humor, eccentric characters, childhood fantasies, and iconoclastic glee that his many fans adore. Like the boy who orders a hot dog "with everything on it" (."..it came with a parrot, / A bee in a bonnet, / A wristwatch, a wrench, and a rake"), there are plenty of surprises in store for readers. Although a few poems feel a tad fragmentary, overall the volume includes some of Silverstein's strongest work, brilliantly capturing his versatility and topsy-turvy viewpoint. The poems take expectedly unexpected twists (Walenda the witch rides a vacuum cleaner); a few are gross ("Let's just say/ I took a dare," reads "Mistake," as Silverstein shows a snake trailing out of a boy's pair of shorts, its tail still entering through his mouth), but many more display Silverstein's clever wordplay, appreciation of everyday events, and understated wisdom. "There are no happy endings./ Endings are the saddest part, / So just give me a happy middle/ And a very happy start." The silly-for-the-sake-of-silly verses are nicely balanced with sweetly contemplative offerings, including a poignant final poem that offers an invitation to readers: "When I am gone what will you do?/ Who will write and draw for you?/ Someone smartersomeone new?/ Someone bettermaybe YOU!" All ages. (Sept.) Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 4 Up--Silverstein pushes playful poesy to its limits with drawings that are as strange and wonderful as the artist's earlier collections. The title selection, a list poem imagining a hot dog with literally "everything on it," is an apt metaphor for this posthumous collection of new work that includes poems, riddles, surprise endings, poems of creature foibles and fables, wry social commentary, and, of course, the idiosyncratic line drawings that spell Silverstein. In "Turning Into," a boy swings from a tree shouting "wow," and when he topples to the ground, he finds that his "wow" is now "MOM." In another illustration, a man is so in love with himself that he has twisted his neck to get a better look. Some poems are lyrical: a rainbow thrower "hurls his colors/Cross the sky" while a rainbow catcher waits at "Horizon's gate." Perhaps the most poignant is "The Clock Man," in which the question, "How much will you pay for an extra day?" is answered throughout life's stages. Like the boy holding the delightfully absurd hot dog with everything piled upon it, this collection offers a Silverstein smorgasbord that won't linger on the library shelves.--Tess Pfeifer, Springfield Renaissance School, MA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.