A Light in the Attic is one of those books from my childhood that my kids had to have. I actually bought the book before I even had kids — that’s how much I love this book. Shel Silverstein is one of those authors that is able to speak to both kids and adults alike. His poems are cute and definitely make a picture in your mind. I remember being a little kid at school and having the teacher read this to us. I am hoping my daughter and son are able to have such great memories of this book too. The 20th anniversary edition (which is the one I own) actually has a CD included with Shel Silverstein reading his own work. One the poems that still makes me laugh is “Prayer of The Selfish Child”:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my toys to break.
So none of the other kids can use ‘em . . .
Amen.

I was giggling as I was typing that. I guess what I really love about Shel Silverstein is that he is able to get into the hearts and minds of children and tell us what they really are thinking.