Ma's (Ho Hum) Literary Corner

Ho hummy, because that's been today. Again. But one should always remember that compared to a comet hitting the house, it's been pretty rockin' fabulous, aujourd'hui.

So there.

As for the rest of the post, if you're not much into books, more particularly, juvenile literature, you may well stop right now. This won't be at all interesting. In fact, it'll be downright ho hum...I'd skip it if I were you.

And now, on the bookish side of things, I was about to say that Shel Silverstein is a children's writer.

However, once I looked him up on the web, just to be sure I didn't make some gross misstatement, I discovered he passed away in 1999 from a heart attack. So in truth, he isn't a children's author, he was a children's author.

I think some of the kids are going to be disappointed.

Anyway, he wrote quite a few lyrics for songs, some of which wouldn't be suitable for children, and others of which were nominated for awards in relation to motion pictures. Guess we can't say he was "just" a children's author, either.

Ever heard of the song, A Boy Named Sue ?

Written by Silverstein.

How well I remember this from a Johnny Cash album one of my older siblings had brought home.

Then there's The Unicorn, made famous by The Irish Rovers. You'll be showing your age if you remember THAT one :-)

Another favorite of mine, I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor, which I heard on a Peter Paul and Mary album.

The most memorable for the kids and I has been his book, Runny Babbit: a Billy Sook. As you can ascertain, it exchanges beginning letters for a capital bit of fun wordplay.

And he wrote a host of other items, but I think you get the drift. A penchant for the offbeat and weird, with a down-to-earth twist.

Last night, I finished reading Shel's book, Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies, to the children. We had some good laughs. Me, most of all. Following are a few of the choicer tidbits:

THE FLYING FESTOON

I am going to ride on the Flying Festoon,
I'll jump on his back and I'll whistle a tune,
And we'll fly to the outermost tip of the moon,
The Flying Festoon and I.

Oh, I'm taking some crackers, a ball and a prune,
And we're leaving this evening precisely at noon,
For I'm going to fly with the Flying Festoon,
Just as soon as he learns how to fly.

GUMPLEGUTCH

Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, Tommy,
The Gumplegutch loves to play.
You may bounce on his belly
And call him old Nelly
And fill up his nostrils with clay.
Don't be afraid of his fangs
Or that one yellow eye
Or the scales on his tail, my dear.
Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, Tommy,
There's nothing at all to fear.

I'll wait for you here.

SQUISHY SQUASHY STAGGITALL

When
Singing songs of
Scaryness,
Of bloodyness
And hairyness,
I-feel-obligated-at-this-moment-to-remind-you
Of-the-most-ferocious-beast-of-all,
Six thousand tons,
And nine miles tall,
The Squishy Squashy Staggitall...
That's standing right behind you.

That last one was particularly effective on Nolan and Trevor who IMMEDIATELY swiveled their heads around in unison to look behind them.

I think its nice to read comforting stories and poems to the kiddos right before bed, don't you?

Shel Silverstein, Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies,(New York:Harper Collins Publishers,1992)
 

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