Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was published by Harper and Row Publishers. The book's poems address common childhood concerns and also present fanciful stories and imaginative images.
“Where the Sidewalk Ends”, the title poem and also Silverstein’s best known poem, encapsulates the core message of the collection. The reader is told that there is a hidden, mystical place "where the sidewalk ends", between the sidewalk and the street. The poem is divided into three stanzas. Although straying from a consistent metrical pattern, Silverstein gives us a simple rhythm, utilizing predominantly iambic tetrameter. This metrical structure consists of four iambs each holding an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Sheldon (Shel) Allan Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into the United States Army. During his rise to prominence in the 1950s, his illustrations were published in various newspapers and magazines.
As a children's author, some of his most acclaimed works include The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic. His works have been translated into more than 47 languages and have sold more than 20 million copies. As a songwriter, Silverstein wrote the 1969 Johnny Cash track "A Boy Named Sue", which peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. His songs have been recorded and popularized by a wide range of other acts including Tompall Glaser, The Irish Rovers and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. He was the recipient of two Grammy Awards as well as nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards.
Silverstein died at home in Key West, Florida, of a heart attack on May 10, 1999, at age 68