Where the Sidewalk Ends, published in
1974, was
Shel Silverstein's first
published book of
poetry.
Shel
Silverstein would later
publish two more books of
poetry,
Light in
the Attic in
1981 and
Falling Up in
1996.
Although this was Shel's first published
book, many of the poems included in Where the Sidewalk Ends had
already appeared in other places between 1961 and 1974 -- seventeen
of the one hundred and twenty-seven poems included had been
published previously, sixteen of which were published in one
of several collections edited by William Cole. The only
previously-published poem not found in a William Cole book
was Helping, published in Free To Be... You and Me by the
Ms. Foundation for Women. Seven of Shel's
poems had also been published in lyric form.
Where the Sidewalk Ends the album was released in 1983 and won the
1984 Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children. The original
version of this album featured Shel Silverstein reciting,
singing and shouting thirty six of his poems. The 25th
anniversary edition includes eleven previously-unreleased
recordings, new liner notes and drawings.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Shel Silverstein
Poems included on the original album are marked with an
asterisk, '*', and those included only on the anniversary edition
of them album are marked with a plus sign, '+'.