Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book ( ISBN 067121148X) is a satirical alphabet book by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1961, it is sometimes described as "subversive". The cover on some editions of the book read "A primer for adults only" while other editions read "A primer for tender young minds" instead.
Much of the humor derives from a cynical drive to give the reader misleading, harmful advice. A portion of the book originally appeared in a slightly different form in Playboy magazine. Silverstein urges the reader to keep termites as pets, play hopscotch with real Scotch whisky and give their father a haircut while he sleeps. He tells the reader that "Mommy loves the baby more than she loves you", and he uses the letter "E", first, to discourage the reader from ever wanting to eat eggs, and then, to encourage the reader to throw eggs up to the ceiling:
He also misdefines a gigolo as a woodwind musical instrument similar to the oboe, assumes the reader can eat as many as 116 green apples in a single day and states that quarantine means, "Come in, kids — free ice cream." He also tells kids that there is a real live pony inside the car (in order to encourage them to put sugar in the gas tank) and elves inside the TV set (likewise encouraging them to break the TV open with a hammer and let the "elves" out), repeatedly misspells "hippopotamus" and uses the letter "I" to inform readers that they can drink ink:
Of course this is all offered in a humorous vein; nevertheless, some readers have been offended by the satire. Indeed, Silverstein is one of the American Library Association's most challenged authors. While some view the book's humor as directed towards adults, it was Silverstein's belief that children and elderly people should be treated no differently from anyone else. [3]
Sheldon Allan Silverstein was an American writer and musician. 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, including the adult-oriented Playboy. He also wrote a satirical, adult-oriented alphabet book, Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book.
Jules Ralph Feiffer is an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for editorial cartooning, and in 2004 he was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. He wrote the animated short Munro, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1961. The Library of Congress has recognized his "remarkable legacy", from 1946 to the present, as a cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, adult and children's book author, illustrator, and art instructor.
The Giving Tree is an American children's picture book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1964 by Harper & Row, it has become one of Silverstein's best-known titles, and has been translated into numerous languages.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spiderwick Estate and discover a world of fairies that they never knew existed. The first book, The Field Guide, was published in 2003 and then followed by The Seeing Stone (2003), Lucinda's Secret (2003), The Ironwood Tree (2004), and The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004). Several companion books have been published including Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (2005), Notebook for Fantastical Observations (2005), and Care and Feeding of Sprites (2006). A second series, entitled Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, includes The Nixie's Song (2007), A Giant Problem (2008), and The Wyrm King (2009).
Falling Up is a 1996 poetry collection primarily for children written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein and published by HarperCollins. It is the third poetry collection published by Silverstein, following Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) and A Light in the Attic (1981), and the final one to be published during his lifetime, as he died just three years after its release. Falling Up was the recipient of the Booklist Editors' Award in 1996.. In 2015, a special edition of the book was published, with 12 new poems.
Robert Joseph Bare Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician.
In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash is a collection of short stories by American humorist Jean Shepherd. It was first published in October 1966.
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. Silverstein's work is valued by people of all ages, primarily due to his skill in subtly communicating social implications through his simple language. Controversial because of its satiric approach to difficult subjects and its theme of challenging authority figures, the book was first banned in 1986 in many libraries and schools.
How to Eat Fried Worms is a 2006 American children's comedy film written and directed by Bob Dolman. It was produced by Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer, with music by Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh of Devo. The movie is loosely based on Thomas Rockwell's 1973 children's book of the same name. It was co-produced by Walden Media, and distributed by New Line Cinema.
Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back, first published in 1963, is a children's story written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It is narrated by Shel Silverstein in the voice of a character named Uncle Shelby.
Don's Fountain of Youth is a 1953 American animated short film by Walt Disney Productions featuring Donald Duck.
Brian P. Cleary is an American humorist, poet, and author. He is best known for his books written for grade-school children that explore grammar in humorous ways; he also controls a line of gift books for grownups. He is the senior editor for digital content at American Greetings, and his greetings have been performed by Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, Smokey Robinson, William Shatner, Meghan Trainor and others.
"Sylvia's Mother" is a 1972 single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show and the group's first hit song. It was written by Shel Silverstein, produced by Ron Haffkine and was highly successful in the United States, reaching #5 on the Billboard singles chart, as well as #2 in the United Kingdom. It spent three weeks at #1 on the Australian music charts, making it the 15th ranked single in Australia for 1972; and also reached #1 in South Africa, where it was the 3rd ranked song for the year, and in New Zealand. The song spent 7 consecutive weeks at #1 in Ireland on the Irish Singles Chart. It appeared on the group's first album, Doctor Hook.
Military humor is humor based on stereotypes of military life. Military humor portrays a wide range of characters and situations in the armed forces. It comes in a wide array of cultures and tastes, making use of burlesque, cartoons, comic strips, double entendre, exaggeration, jokes, parody, gallows humor, pranks, ridicule and sarcasm.
There have been a variety of Sesame Street video games released for video game platforms. Most of the Sesame Street video games were published and developed by NewKidCo.
Razi Hirmandi (with the real name of Seyed Mohammad Razi Khodadadi is an Iranian writer/translator who translates from English into Persian for children and adults.
The Inheritance Cycle is a tetralogy of young adult high fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini. Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia, the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix. The series was originally intended to be a trilogy until Paolini announced on October 30, 2007, while working on the third novel, that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books.
Ron Haffkine was an American record producer, composer and music manager most recognized for his work as a producer and manager of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, an American rock band, producing hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of Rolling Stone", "Sharing the Night Together", "A Little Bit More" and "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" and achieving 67 Gold and Platinum records.
DC Graphic Novels for Kids, formerly known as DC Zoom, is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics consisting of original one-shots and reprints of books previously published under other imprints. The imprint intends to present traditional DC Universe characters for middle-grade readers. The first title of the DC Zoom imprint, DC Super Hero Girls: Search for Atlantis was published on September 26, 2018. Black Canary: Ignite and Super Sons Book Two: The Foxglove Mission were the last titles to be published under DC Ink. Diana: Princess of the Amazons, the first title of DC Graphic Novels for Kids, was published on January 7, 2020. The first reprint, DC Super Hero Girls: Weird Science was published on July 14, 2020.
Jenny & the Eddies is a comic book that promotes vaccine safety and confronts conspiracy theorists who oppose their use. Created by New Zealand-based general practitioner Richard Clinghan and published in 2020, it is a fairy tale with colourful drawings likely to appeal to young children and but also has a deeper message about the importance of vaccinations which would be relevant to teenagers and adults. Written initially to counter misinformation about the measles vaccine, the comic has received media attention because of its relevance to COVID-19.