A Light in the Attic - One-Author Collection of Poems

The one-author collection of poems book I decided to use was Shel Silversteins, A Light in the Attic. Shel Silversteins was the author and illustrator of this collection of poems. His collection of poems are very random and quirky. A few of my favorite poems in this collection are, "How not to have to dry the dishes", "Fancy Dive" and "Crowded Tub". In How not to have to dry the dishes, Silverstein says that if you do not want to do this boring chore and you drop one on the floor, maybe you won't have to dry the dishes anymore. This is saying that if you drop dishes on the floor, your mother won't want you potentially dropping anymore so she won't make you dry the dishes anymore! The next favorite of mine if Fancy Dive. In this poem, a lady does all of these incredible tricks, flips and turns to discover that there is no water in the pool she is about to fall in to! The third favorite of mine is Crowded Tub. In this poem, there are so many people in the tub that no one knows who is washing who. I like the quote, "I washed a behind I'm sure wasn't mine!" All of the poems in Shel Silverstein's collection are very random and most of them are very funny. The illustrations that accompany each poem fit the text perfectly as well.

I think this is a great representation of a one-author collection of poems. Most of these poems are easy to read and many second or third grade students could read this book to themselves. It is also very fun to have the teacher read to the class however. This gets the student's interested and excited about reading poems, espeically ones that will make them laugh! I think there is at least one poem incorporated in this collection for every kind of person.

This book did cause quite a bit of controversary however. Many people thought the poem "How not to have to dry the dishes" was promoting messiness and disobediance and was banned from a school in Florida. This decision was later overturned.

This collection of poems has received numerous awards and recognitions. These include: American Association: Best Graphic Illustrations, Winner of the 1983-1984 Allen White Award, Winnter of the 1983 Garden State Children's Book Award, 1984 Garden State Children's book Award Center for Children's Books, Recognition of Merit award, ALA Notable Children's Book, School Library Journal Best Book, Library of Congress Children's Book and Buckeye Children's Book award.

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1981