Nostalgic Friday: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

Today I am featuring a children's classic. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was originally published in 1974. Thousands of children the world over have read the poems and short stories included in this book and laughed at the cute drawings created by the author himself. Silverstein has written several volumes of poetry and other stand-alone children's books but this one has always remained my favorite. Below are a few of my favorites.

One sister for sale! One sister for sale!
One crying and yelling young sister for sale!
I'm really not kidding, So who will start the bidding?
Do I hear a dollar? A nickle? A penny?
Oh, isn't there, isn't there, isn't there any
One kid who will buy this fifteen year old sister for sale,
This crying and yelling young sister for sale?

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in! Come in!

I hope you all enjoy his books as much as I do and if you've never read them, pick one up at your local library!