A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
**A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Overview**
"A Light in the Attic" is a celebrated collection of poems and illustrations by Shel Silverstein, known for its whimsical and humorous take on various childhood themes. The book covers a wide range of subjects, from feelings of exclusion and bossiness to more humorous explorations of characters like clowns and dragons. Silverstein's unique style combines playful language with illustrations that often add depth and context to the poems, making the visual elements an integral part of the storytelling.
The poems reflect a child's perspective while addressing serious themes such as death and the complexities of relationships, presented in an accessible and often lighthearted manner. Silverstein's work is characterized by its unpredictability and respect for the intelligence of young readers, encouraging imaginative thinking and play. "A Light in the Attic" stands out as the last in a series of successful children's books by Silverstein, further solidifying his reputation as a beloved author and illustrator. The book's enduring popularity is evidenced by its numerous awards and its lengthy tenure on best-seller lists, highlighting its significance in children's literature.
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Subject Terms
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
First published: 1981; illustrated
Subjects: Coming-of-age, emotions, and friendship
Type of work: Poetry
Recommended Ages: 10-15
Form and Content
Readers of A Light in the Attic quickly realize the value of complementary words and drawings, as Shel Silverstein uses both with incomparable facility to present his wry child’s-eye view of all subjects that matter. Silverstein explores topics from feeling left out (“Play Ball”) to bossiness (“Friendship”) to clowns who are not entertaining (“Cloony the Clown”) and bad attitudes (“Sour Face Ann”) with keen wit and deep appreciation for the importance of not taking oneself too seriously. His sense of humor runs the gamut of possibilities—sometimes dry, occasionally sardonic, at times outrageously nonsensical.
Silverstein’s illustrations complement his poems; rarely are they merely visual restatements of a poem’s message. Some yield additional information necessary for understanding the poem; all are as integral a part of Silverstein’s creation as the second voice in a duet. Readers of the poem “Surprise!” who wonder what Grandpa has sent back from India need only look at the elephant-shaped wooden box to guess. Occasionally, as in “Snake Problem,” in which a twenty-four-foot python uses his body to spell “I love you,” or “Quick Trip,” a poem about being eaten by the “quick-digesting Gink,” the meaning of the poem depends upon the drawing. One poem, “Union for Children’s Rights,” appears entirely in the signboards that a crowd of protesting children hold above their heads. “Buckin’ Bronco” bucks the narrator almost off the edge of the paper. “Deaf Donald” uses sign language to tell the vital part of the poem, something conveyable only through illustrations. “Come Skating” shows a wool cap, a nose, and two astonished eyes peering through a jagged hole in the ice—the result of mistaking ice skating for roller skating.
Favorite children’s subjects abound, but in unexpected contexts. Pirates are “blithery, blathery” or, like Captain Blackbeard, merely laughable because he recently got a shave. “The Dragon of Grindly Grun” weeps for fair damsels because he likes them medium rare and can only toast them well done. Silverstein’s animals are eccentric, as can be imagined from the title “They’ve Put a Brassiere on the Camel.”
Death appears as a subject several times in this volume, sometimes in jest, sometimes in fear, yet as natural in the continuum of topics in this book as it is natural to life itself. Likewise, Silverstein takes on pushy parents, bossy friends, pixilated baby-sitters who sit on the baby, and annoying nursery rhymes (“One Two”).
Silverstein’s whimsy takes off in countless directions, all worth pursuing. He never condescends and is never predictable. In its own outlandish way, A Light in the Attic is a collection of inspirational poems, beginning with the title poem, which suggests that “the lights are on and somebody is home,” and ending with “The Bridge,” which will only take the reader halfway, Silverstein notes. The Light in the Attic opens so many new possibilities for imaginative play that the remainder of the journey will seem easy.
Critical Context
A Light in the Attic was the last in a series of best-selling, beloved, and occasionally controversial books that Silverstein produced before turning to writing plays for adults. The winner of a School Library Journal Best Books award (1981), Buckeye awards (1983 and 1985), George G. Stone award (1984), and William Allen White award (1984), the book remained on The New York Times best-seller list for months, as did his previous collection of poetry, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974). Silverstein is best known for these two books but has published several other successful works for children, such as Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back (1963), The Giving Tree (1964), and The Missing Piece (1976). He has also written songs (lyrics and music), motion-picture scores, and plays, and he has penned cartoons for national publications.
Silverstein mines several considerable talents to produce his children’s books: His composer’s ear, cartoonist’s eye, and playwright’s sense of dialogue all work together to produce work that is consistently engaging and respectful of the intelligence of readers of all ages.