A Light in the Attic ~ BBW #1

Review #1 for Banned Books Week (BBW)

A Light in the Attic: Poems and Drawings ~ by Shel Silverstein, 1981, children's, 8/10

Why was this book banned?  Because it allegedly "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence."  Oh, my!  What about hilarious nonsense, made-up-words, and giggles?  It has also been banned because of "suggestive illustrations."  One library also claimed that the book "glorified Satan, suicide and cannibalism, and also encouraged children to be disobedient."  Oh, come on!  I think we need to give children more credit. They are smarter than some parents apparently think.  Okay, on to the book.

I love playing with words, as in this one from page 110:

Bored

I can't afford
A skateboard.
I can't afford
An outboard.
I can't afford
A surfboard.
All I can afford
Is a board.

The drawing shows a child with a board across his shoulder that spreads across both pages.

The best way for me to praise this book is by quoting from it, words and drawings.  I'll "quote" this drawing from pages 140-141, because it's one I could find online:

click to enlarge

The poem on page 22 made me think it could have been his life's philosophy:

Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.

Thank you, Shel Silverstein, for putting some silliness into this world that wasn't been there before.

If you would like to hear a poem or three animated and spoken by the author/artist, click here.  After the intro, click on "Shel's Books."  Then click on "A Light in the Attic," and choose one of the three (or all three) poems, read by their creator.  "Eight Balloons" is my favorite.

In a sign drawn on a flower, Shel dedicated this book to his daughter Shanna — Shoshanna means "lily" or "rose" in Hebrew — who turned eleven the year it was published. She died the following year, not yet twelve.

I rate this book 8 of 10, a very good book.

Also posted on my Banned Books blog.