Shel Silverstein's Five Book Celebration

HarperCollins is marking several of the late author-illustrator Shel Silverstein (1930–1999) milestones this year.The Giving Tree (which has sold more than 10 million copies), Don’t Bump the Glump!, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? and A Giraffe and a Half all celebrate 50 years in print, and poetry collection Where the Sidewalk Ends(which also has sales of 10 million copies) turns 40.

In February, the publisher kicked off a six-figure, year-long marketing campaign to observe these significant book birthdays. Commemorative editions of each of the five titles were released on February 18, as was the first-ever digital version of The Giving Tree, marking the only time a Silverstein book has appeared in a format other than hardcover.

The challenge of any Silverstein book anniversary is “what do you do to the books that is in line with what Shel had done or might have liked? Sometimes all you can do is add a sticker.” As examples of more significant tweaks, she cites the 50th-anniversary edition of The Giving Tree, which features a green foil jacket, and the 30th-anniversary edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends, which included 12 additional pages of previously unpublished poems.But any planning for new projects begins by speaking with Silverstein’s family members, who maintain an archive of his original art and papers in Chicago. “We talk to the family and see what they might consider,” editor Antonia Markiet says. “And it’s great that they do consider what we suggest. For the recent editions of A Giraffe and a Half and Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back (which turned 50 last year), Markiet says she went back to the vintage jackets using the type and color from 50 years ago. 

“We looked at our archives and the family archives to see if the paper was a different color and it was cream more than blue-white,” she said. The vintage jackets will be available for a limited time, in tandem with the more familiar, long-running, black-and-white versions. “It’s nice to offer both and let people decide; they can buy a copy for nostalgia,” Markiet notes.

Shouldering the responsibility for Silverstein’s backlist is “humbling and terrifying,” Markiet says. “There is certainly gratification, and being able to bring 50-year-old classics to new generations of kids spoils you a bit,” she adds. “Shel was one of the best that ever was. Kids still love his work and scream with laughter – and so do people my age!”

Shel Silverstein’s Life Showcased in New Biopic for the Cinema

Any of us who are teachers, parents, and other caregivers, are familiar with the works of Shel Silverstein, who is best known for writing and illustrating classic children’s books, including Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree, as well as penning country music classics like Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.”

Now Award-winning songwriter and children’s book author Shel Silverstein will be the subject of a new biopic based on the biography A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein by Lisa Rogak.

Wonderland Sound and Vision is producing the project, with writing partners Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair adapting the script from the biography. Director McG (Charlie’s Angels, 3 Days to Kill) will be among the film’s producers. 

 Silverstein also collaborated with musicians including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show and drew cartoons for Playboy. Silverstein’s songs were as well-crafted as they were funny, and he was even nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his song “I’m Checkin’ Out,” which was sung by Meryl Streep in Postcards from the Edge. 

Silverstein’s most famous books have been translated into more than 30 languages and sold over 20 million copies, but the biography also looks at his experimental plays written with David Mamet and other projects that not many people know about. 

Silverstein died in 1999 of a heart attack at the age of 68.