The Nonsensical World of Shel Silverstein- Don’t Bump the Glump!

The 1960s were a magical era of children's writing.  While education expanded its knowledge of what children needed for literacy, one idea rose to the top- using nonsensical words to help children with phonemic awareness.  Students need rhyme and rhythm to help build word families.

Perhaps no writer other than Seuss typifies this styling of writing better than Shel Silverstein.  It is hard to believe that more than three decades have gone by sense the publication of Don't Bump the Glump.  The nonsense rhymes are delightful to read with illustrations that are bizarre to say the least.  I believe it was Janet Allen, the well-known vocabulary specialist, who introduced me to the great little thoughts of this 56 page book.  After the prologue and warning about bumping into the glump, there are 43 weird characters to learn about like the Dickeree and the Quick-Disgusting Ginnit.  You are now in the zoo of Silverstein where the creatures are weird.

So you will read about the Bibely, Floop, the Goppitt and the Glub-Toothed Sline. 

When the Glub-Toothed Sline
Comes to my house to dine,
You may find me in France or Detroit....
 
If you find me at all,
You never shall find me at home.
 
That was just a short excerpt from one selection to give you a bit of an idea of they rhythm of much of the poetry Shel includes in this marvelous little book.  One of my favorites is About the Bloath.  The illustration makes him look somewhat like a hippo except he has tusks coming out each side of his mouth moving upward as though they were rhino horns.

In the undergrowth
There dwells the Bloath
Who feeds upon poets and tea.
Luckily I know this about him,
While he knows almost nothing of me.

There are just so many things for which these poems may be used whether teaching phonics to students, using them as illustrations of poetry, dealing with descriptive word selection or just for fun, these poems have a solid place in the classroom.  Silverstein is a master of descriptive writing.  And children enjoy the creepiness of his illustrations.  These are all done in color, bringing even further life to these weird creatures.

The poems vary in size from just three or four lines to filling two pages.  They are intended as one sitting reads and would be good for transitions in the classroom.  Some of the poems can have deeper lessons, like this one about the One-Legged Zantz:
Please be kind to the One-Legged Zantz
Consider his feelings---
Don't ask him to dance.

And then there is this creature looking somewhat like a pig's body with an ant eater's snout standing on one leg and looking sad.  There is a good lesson here on kindness masked in the silliness, but a lesson nonetheless. 

Shel Silverstein was a great writer and illustrator who left us all too soon.  His writings remain a vital part of children's literature decades after their original release.  Thanks to Harper Collins, a new generation is becoming familiar with his works.  I was delighted to go into a classroom this week, in fact, and there on the teacher's desk was a copy of The Giving Tree one of Silverstein's most beloved works.  So his works have become children's classics. 

Now while you may not be familiar with Don't Bump the Glump! and other Fantasies, if you are familiar with the writing and illustrations of Shel Silverstein, you will not wish to miss this fun book.

Don't Bump the Glump! and other Fantasies
Shel Silverstein
Harper Collins
9780061493386
 
For some wonderful activities and more information about Shel and his ageless work, visit the official website at shelsilverstein.com.