A little known work by a well-loved poet

I've been a huge Shel Silverstein fan since I discovered he existed, somewhere back in elementary school. I've been working on collecting as many of his books as I can, with the help of loving relatives, and I managed to obtain this one several years ago.

"Uncle Shelby's ABZ's" is quite different from other books by this wonderful poet. His wit and edgy sense of humor, which is touched on in his poetry collections, is more evident here. It's reminiscent of Roald Dahl, who primarily writes books for children, but who can't resist slipping in the occasional digs at bratty and spoiled children and their parents.

Disguised as an alphabet book, "Uncle Shelby's ABZ's" takes a twisted look at learning the alphabet. It's much more a book for adults than children. Each letter of the alphabet is illustrated by Silverstein's clever drawings, with words that start with that letter, and fun games and helpful hints. Just an example:

"M is for money. Money is the root of all evil. It makes mommy and daddy fight. Take all the money you can find in mommy's purse and mail it to Uncle Shelby at..."

I laugh out loud every time I read even a page of this book. It's a great departure from his more youth-oriented poetry and stories, although I love those dearly. I'm not sure how easy it is to find, but it's well worth reading if you like to laugh.