Poetry Anthology

o Book title: Where the Sidewalk Ends
o Author/illustrator: Shel Silverstein
o Clip Art:

o Suggested Grade Level for the book: 2^nd grade because the book includes cute, humorous poems, some of which address issues they might be and will soon be dealing with. 
o An original brief summary: This book is comprised of numerous poems by Shel Silverstein.  Most of the poems are also accompanied by pictures. Some of the poems are nonsensical and unrealistic, such as If I Had a Brontosaurus, while others tell about common childhood issues, such as Sarah Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out.  Moreover, some of the poems are about being a good person, such as Hug O’ War.  
o How the book could be used in the classroom to teach children skills and strategies they need to know (be specific): This book could be used in the classroom not only to introduce students to the genre of poetry, but also to get students to like poetry because the poems in this book are so enjoyable. 
o ESOL strategies/applications:  the pictures in the book that go along with that accompany some of the poems are great for ESOL students.  Also the rhyming of within the poems is great for ESOL students.  It would be necessary to ensure that the EOL students know that not all the parts in the book are to be taken literally.
o Read Aloud: I would most likely choose to read this book to my students throughout the year.  For example, while students are lining up or before the end of the day I would read them a poem or two just to get them interested in poetry to avoid them developing negative thoughts about the genre.
o Personal opinions of the book or illustrations: This is by far one of my favorite poem anthologies.  I absolutely love Shel Silverstein’s work and could read his poems over and over without getting bored.