Where the Sidewalk Ends

An absolute classic read which I needed to find after the last book.  It is the quintessential child’s ‘imagination run wild’ book, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  It is the 40^th Anniversary edition!  Who doesn’t love rhyming lines of the most creative and ingenious short poems that push the boundaries of a young child’s thinking, or even my own.  I have so many favorites as this was one of my nieces favorite books (Tessa, Happy birthday as well!).  I think that is where she actually found her imaginary friend Fritz, a little white speck who would appear and disappear, sometimes giving her a funny voice to speak through… the book begins with an invitation:

                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!

And so I did, and hope all of you do as well.  I loved so many, especially Jimmy Jet and his TV set (see what happens when you watch too much of it?  Wonder what will happen when TV sets are no longer). Or the great Unicorn!  There are so many characters to remember, so don’t forget to believe in your child’s concern for that monster under the bed, don’t be like the boy’s dad who looked and then was no more, as he was eaten!  Or Nancy Bates the weightliftress who will remind you she is strong, or even the little blue engine who could… until he ran out of steam at the top of the hill went backward and crashed into everyone else!  Smiles... that’s what this book brings.  It is a MUST purchase for any 4, 5, 6, or 77, year old.  Life and bringing creativity to it never gets old.