I accidentally stumbled on Shel Silverstein poems the other night after a glass (there were two glasses) of wine. My eyes filled with tears from many of the poems, I giggled at several and I just sat there thinking, dang this is more for adults than for a child.
As a child I would just laugh at the pictures and bounce my head along to the rhythm of the words. I didn't understand what was really going on. When I stumbled on these poems the other night, I was truly touched. I thought we could revisit them together... sans wine. Well, sans wine for me because it is 8am, but you do whatever you like! When in Rome.
Ok, well I'm not sure that last one was much of a learning lesson but (as an only child) it sure was funny! It is amazing to me how many kid things are just as meaningful to adults. Whether that meaning be humor, or heart warming, or even quite emotional. I mean, look at the movie UP and Toy Story 3, no child will get the same out of those movies that I get out of them! I guess since I don't have any kids, it is eye opening to look back on things I adored as a child, and still adore them today.
What childhood movies or poems or books do you still find meaning in today?
I was absolutely in love with Shel Silverstein when I was a kid. I still have all of his books displayed in my apartment.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I loved Shel Silverstein as a child, so it's great to revisit his poems as an adult. And you're right! They have so much more meaning now. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't that beautiful?! I LOVE that childhood stories and movies and shows hide so much meaning in them for us to find when we've gained more experience and understanding. Shel Silverstein used to be my very favorite - I'd run to the section at the public library that his books were in and would always be so excited to get to check out a new one :)
ReplyDeleteHis books were my entire childhood summed up. Love it
ReplyDeleteListen to the mustn'ts is my motto in life. I still think it applies to me now more so than I was a kid.
ReplyDeletelove this! thanks for the smile.
ReplyDeleteThat first one is so sad, and so true nowadays, but I loved it.
ReplyDeleteNatalia
My favorite was and is Standing is Stupid.
ReplyDeleteHis books were always my favorite! Love the Giving Tree!! That hamburger poem is amazing too!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Shel Silverstein as a kid! And I currently have Listen To The Mustn'ts printed out and hanging in my bedroom! And now I'm stalking the comments on this post to find more poems, hah
ReplyDeleteAw I loved Shel Silverstein! I seriously need to go buy some of his books. I miss reading those!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Shel Silverstein! I totally agree that they are very well applied to adult life! I remember reading Amelia Bedelia books as a child too...and I could still sit and read them today as well.
ReplyDeleteOh how I love Shel Silverstein. My favorite childhood story that applies with such importance in adulthood is The Velveteen Rabbit. I even had my brother read the passage about what it means to "be real" during my wedding ceremony. Tears all around.
ReplyDeleteLove "listen to the mustn'ts"... love love love! I also love a couple of throwback Dr. Seuss books that I still have on my nightstand to this day.
ReplyDeleteoh man i love Shel Silverstein. but you're right, it's interesting to go back and revisit the different meaning that it takes on now
ReplyDeleteI love Shel Silverstein! I remember in elementary school checking those books out of the library like, a million times. I always find it interesting to revisit something I loved as a child and to find new meaning in it as an adult!
ReplyDeleteAnything School House Rock was my jam! I still know most them by heart lol
ReplyDeleteI love all these!! I still have all his books somewhere.
ReplyDeletemy mom and i used to shel silverstein every night so i got super happy when i saw you pinning up a storm the other night :)
ReplyDeleteI remember reading these as a kid. I wonder if I still have those old books, my kids would like them.
ReplyDeleteSO funny! I'm restyling my bedroom and pulled out "Where the Sidewalk Ends" to keep on my nightstand as Decor/light prebed reading. It was not only a blast from the past but there are some adult meanings deep within those poems!
ReplyDeletexo, Nina
afterthe40barfinish.blogspot.com
For some reason Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich was always my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI was just reading one of his poetry books the other day. I have them all on my bookshelf and I remember reading them straight through as a kid.
ReplyDeleteaww i remember these books! i loved them as a kid. xo jillian - cornflake dreams
ReplyDeleteHug o' War has got to be one of the most touching things! Adore this and want to find it and frame it!
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome blast from the past. I love these. The Giving Tree was one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a book or poem, but throughout my entire childhood I begged to go to Disneyland. My parents were very against the idea, not only because I had a much older brother who would hate the whole trip, but also because of crowds and the general gross-ness of the whole place. I finally went when I was 19 with a bunch of friends and came back RAVING about it. My mom just said "Aren't you glad you went when you were older and could truly enjoy it?" I hate it when parents are right :]
ReplyDeleteI love Shel Silverstein! There's one that's like two pages long about the unicorns missing the ark and that's why they aren't here anymore. I remember my mom had that one memorized. This makes me want to go find my Shel Silverstein books!
ReplyDeletexoxo Jenny
I love SS! This one is still my favorite and has stuck with me even as an adult: http://25.media.tumblr.com/f85244a1a6a6c2d9ea695f23f83a0bf6/tumblr_mok3y5RdWU1r1cqjqo1_500.jpg
ReplyDeletethis is so fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteI love Shel Silverstein! My second favourite poet after e.e. cummings
ReplyDeleteI love Shel Silverstein, one of these days I'm going to go get all my books from the attic and read through them!
ReplyDelete... and just like that I'm adding all Shel Silverstein books to my baby registry. I used to LOVE reading these when I was little! Thanks for taking me back :-)
ReplyDeleteLove Shel Silverstein. I'd say one of the most enjoyable things about being a mom is getting to read through our old childhood books with Stella and to remember how different our perspectives were when we were little, compared to hers and also to our own new perspectives as adults. As a child my favorite movie was The Never Ending Story, and of course Stella loves it now, too!
ReplyDeleteEva Marie
I forgot how much I love these! Reading all of these just made me so so happy. My favorite is the hug o' war. So presh.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this poet before. She's great. I love that first poem .. a lot. Up was such a great movie, wasn't it!? It was so heartfelt and sweet... I like this post today.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fave books as a kid was one of his!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely LOVE Shel Silverstein!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Shel Silverstein!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience recently when reading Shel Silverstein to my friend's little girls. I was getting all emotional reading some really brilliant words that apply to me as an adult more than I ever thought possible.
ReplyDeleteShel (yes we're on a first name basis...) is the best! Brod Bagert was really big at my school, pretty sure because the librarian and he were friends. Ever heard of his books? Here's a link to one of the more popular ones (http://www.brodbagert.com/books/detail/22/Chicken-Socks-and-Other-Contagious-Poems). I even have a few autographed copies of his books.
ReplyDeleteI really just love this throwback a lot. So many memories.
ReplyDeleteShane, Whispering Sweet Nothings
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