A Light in the Attic

"Light In The Attic" redirects here. For the record label, see Light in the Attic Records.

A Light in the Attic

Author	Shel Silverstein
Illustrator	Shel Silverstein
Cover artist	Larry Moyer
Language	English
Genre	Children's poetry
Publisher	Harper & Row
Publication date	1981
Publication place	United States
Pages	169
ISBN	0-06-025673-7
OCLC	7574216

A Light in the Attic is a collection of poems by the American poet, writer, and children's author Shel Silverstein. It was first published by Harper & Row in 1981. The poems for children are accompanied by illustrations also created by Shel Silverstein.

Controversy

Attempts have been made to ban the book from some libraries, parents claiming that the poem "How Not To Have To Dry The Dishes" encourages messiness and disobedience. The poem "Little Abigail and the Beautiful Pony" led to more criticism for describing the death of a girl after her parents refuse to buy her a pony. This led the book to be banned by the Fruitland Park Elementary School in Lake County, Florida. The decision, however, was later reversed by an advisory committee of parents and teachers. Other complaints included the mention of supernatural themes, including demons, devils, and ghosts.

Poems

1. A Light in the Attic
2. How Many, How Much
3. Moon-Catchin' Net
4. Hammock
5. How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes
6. Stop Thief!
7. The Sitter - A delusional woman thinks that babysitting means literally sitting on a baby.
8. Prayer of the Selfish Child
9. What Did? - Shel tells two different jokes of his own, but soon stops after he gets to a teapot and a piece of chalk.
10. Shaking - A girl is scolded for shaking a cow to try and make a milkshake.
11. Signals - Shel tells the readers what different signals mean on a traffic light, but soon asks about a ridiculous color.
12. Picture Puzzle Piece
13. Put Something In
14. Monsters I've Met - A man meets several monsters, but they are not there to do their usual businesses.
15. Rock 'n' Roll Band
16. Something Missing - A man gets ready for a dance, but feels he forgot something (his pants) .
17. Memorizin' Mo
18. Somebody Has to
19. Reflection
20. Fancy Dive
21. Here Comes - Shel heralds the return of summer, but spends so much time doing so that it soon becomes autumn.
22. The Dragon of Grindly Grun - A dragon tells how he breathes fire on any knight who tries to slay him, but unintentionally burns beautiful maidens too.
23. Blame - Shel writes a book, but a goat takes a bite out of it.
24. Messy Room - Shel complains about a very messy bedroom, but soon realizes it is his.
25. Never - Shel talks about things has never done, only to get depressed by the thought.
26. Day After Halloween
27. Wavy Hair - A man thinks he has wavy hair, only to find it was his *head* that was wavy.
28. Longmobile
29. Backward Bill
30. Mr. Smeds and Mr. Spats - Mr. Spats, a man who wears 21 hats on his head, buys another one from Mr. Smeds, a man with 21 heads.
31. Snake Problem - A boy asks the readers what to do when a snake spells "I love you" in its coils.
32. Bear in There
33. Superstitious
34. The Pirate
35. Hurk
36. Anchored
37. Unscratchable Itch
38. Squishy Touch
39. Important? - A lowercase a boasts about how certain things wouldn't exist without it to a capital G, but the big letter argues otherwise.
40. Thumb Face
41. Eight Balloons
42. Ations
43. Musical Career
44. Anteater
45. Buckin' Bronco
46. Snap!
47. Overdues
48. Wild Strawberries
49. How to Make a Swing With No Rope or Board or Nails
50. Gumeye Ball
51. Hot Dog
52. Adventures of a Frisbee
53. Come Skating
54. The Meehoo with an Exactlywatt - In an Abbott and Costello-like exchange, a "Meehoo" tries to sell an "Exactlywatt" to someone, but eventually gets told off.
55. Cloony the Clown - Shel tells the story of a mediocre circus clown who one day decides to employ gloomier tactics, only to end up being unintentionally funny.
56. Tryin' On Clothes
57. Shapes - A square is impaled by a triangle, but a circle wheels him to a hospital.
58. Tired
59. Prehistoric - Shel's explanation of evolution.
60. My Guitar - Shel expresses his desire for a guitar that plays itself.
61. Spelling Bee
62. Always Sprinkle Pepper
63. Peckin' - Shel finds a woodpecker pecking on a fake tree, and it tells him how things have changed.
64. It's Hot!
65. Turtle - Shel talks about a turtle who does not move (it turns out to be made of wood).
66. Crowded Tub
67. Channels - Shel talks to a child about different channels on TV, but in the end, asks if he/she would like to talk instead.
68. Hippo's Hope - A hippo makes wings, hoping to fly. This poem has three endings: he either succeeds, falls and dies, or just gives up and goes home (the first two can be interpreted as expectations and reality, and the third, what he ultimately decides to do).
69. Whatif - Shel has a nightmare where some "whatifs" crawl into his ear, and makes him worry about things, some more ridiculous than others.
70. Sour Face Ann
71. The Climbers - A man thinks he is climbing a mountain, but is actually walking across the face of a sleeping giant.
72. Rockabye - Shel's version of Rock-a-Bye Baby.
73. The Little Boy and the Old Man
74. Surprise!
75. Ticklish Tom - An extremely ticklish boy is tickled by other people, until he rolls onto a railroad track. The poem ends there, so we never find out what happened to him.
76. The Nailbiter - A man talks about his nail-biting habit, but assures the readers he has never scratched anyone.
77. The Fly Is In
78. Strange Wind - A man is caught in a fierce gale that blows away his head instead of his hat.
79. One Two - Shel tries to recite "One-Two, buckle my shoe", but is interrupted by an off-screen voice.
80. Tusk, Tusk
81. Captain Blackbeard Did What? - Captain Blackbeard's crew is an uproar because he has shaved off his beard, and he is not the pirate he was.
82. Magic Carpet
83. Outside or Underneath?
84. It's All the Same to the Clam - Shel explains that while the world may change, a clam doesn't see it that way.
85. Hula Eel - Shel explains how much fun an eel can be as a pet...until it ends up constricting the person he's talking to.
86. Bored - A boy complains that he can't afford any kind of board except a useless plank of wood.
87. Standing Is Stupid - Shel complains about different ways to move, and decides to go lie in bed.
88. Who Ordered the Broiled Face? - A broiled disembodied face is served to someone, but is confused when they wanted it fried instead.
89. The Man in the Iron Pail Mask - Shel describes someone who is fearless and wears an iron pail as a mask, but it is really a little child.
90. Gooloo - Shel describes a legless bird who is forced to fly forever, and cannot land to rest or lay eggs.
91. Headache - A man complains about a tree growing out of his head, but is better in spring when it grows leaves.
92. Quick Trip - Some kids get eaten by a monster that spits them back out on the street in no time at all (this poem is four pages long).
93. Little Abigail and the Beautiful Pony - Shel tells a cautionary tale about a spoiled girl who asks her parents to buy her a pony, but they refuse, and her obsession with it kills her.
94. Hiccup Cure - Shel tries to cure a person's hiccups, but it doesn't work.
95. The Painter - A man describes his job, which is giving animals their distinctive colors.
96. Nobody - A boy has an imaginary friend who supposedly treats him well, but one day wakes up to find "Nobody" has disappeared.
97. Zebra Question - A boy asks a zebra a question, but he counters with some ridiculous questions of his own.
98. The Sword-Swallower - Shel tells about a sword-swallower named Salomar, but is soon so disgusted by it that he decides to have bread and jam instead.
99. Arrows - A boy shoots an arrow in the air, but it hits a cloud and kills it.
100. The Toad and the Kangaroo - A toad falls in love with a kangaroo, but they split up over what to name their baby if they had one.
101. Play Ball - Shel gets together some people for a baseball team, but soon decides to use the reader for a ball when all the positions are filled.
102. Friendship - Shel tells the readers how to be friends with him: to do what he tells them.
103. Poemsicle - Shel adds "-sicle" to various words, but soon ends up adding it to every word he says.
104. Senses - The five senses are all together, but when an ear comes in to listen what the mouth is saying, it stops talking.
105. Hinges - Shel explains sin would not exist if people's heads had hinges for removing it.
106. Fear - A boy who is afraid of drowning eventually does so when his fearful tears fill up his bedroom.
108. Twistable Turnable Man - Shel describes a little man who can be folded up and curled to fit anywhere.
109. Batty - A bat yells for someone to turn out the light.
110. Union for Children's Rights - Some children get together to protest the unfairness of the world.
111. Hitting
112. Deaf Donald - A deaf boy meets a girl but can only sign "I love you".
113. Have Fun
114. Dog's Day - A dog has a birthday, but is disappointed when all he gets is a plate of dog food with a candle in it.
115. Skin Stealer - A man takes his skin and head off before he goes to bed, but a "coo-coo" steals them and frames the man for things he wouldn't normally do.
116. Ladies First
117. Frozen Dream
118. The Lost Cat
119. God's Wheel
120. Shadow Race
121. Clarence - A boy obsessed with online shopping soon gets new parents.
122. Rhino Pen
123. Push Button
124. Kidnapped!
125. Suspense
126. Dinner Guest
127. In Search of Cinderella
128. Almost Perfect
129. Pie Problem
130. The Oak and the Rose
131. They've Put a Brassiere on the Camel
132. This Bridge
133. Masks - A man and a woman wearing masks pass by, failing to notice each other's presence.

Awards and nominations

Winner of the 1984 William Allen White Children's Book Award.