Uncle Shelby

Today Pioneer Woman made mention of Shel Silverstein - which brought back very fond memories for me. I do love some Shel Silverstein.

My favorite work of his - by far - is UNCLE SHELBY'S ABZ's. This is the greatest coloring book ever. Do not, ever - under any circumstances - allow children near this book. I know that if you go to your local book store, you're probably going to find it in the section with all the kid type books - but I'm here to tell ya .. .. .. no good can come from children getting knowledge from this book!

I'm not sure where my 2 or 3 copies are right this minute - but here are some bits and pieces that I remember:

"B is for baby. See the baby. The baby is pink. The baby is cute. The baby is fat. See the baby play. Play baby play. Mommy loves the baby . . . . . more than she loves you."

"E is for egg. E is also for Ernie. Ernie is the genie that lives in the ceiling. Ernie LOVES eggs. Throw an egg at the ceiling and yell 'Catch, Ernie, catch the egg!' and Ernie will reach down and catch the egg." Hey, JB - you remember that one?

"P is for Pony. See the pony. The pony lives in the gas tank of Daddy's car. He makes the car go. That is called "horse power". Maybe the pony is hungry--Pour some nice sugar into the gas tank. Ponies love sugar. When Daddy comes home tell him you have fed the pony and maybe he will buy you a cowboy suit."

The artwork is just as distorted as his mind .. .. there are other goodies such as a smudged spot where it says there should be a nice, shiny quarter (unless someone stole it). There a coupon you can cut out and take to the store and get a FREE REAL LIVE PONY!!!

He also suggests that you take all the nasty dirty money that mommy and daddy fight about and put it in an envelope and mail it to Uncle Shel Silverstein, P.O. Box 123. . . . .. . . . .

For the hippo at the zoo it's something about helping to remove the bone in his throat that it is choking on - and the hippo will turn into a prince and give you a million dollars!

I'm telling you, if you've never seen it - go to the book store and just sit there and read it - it's not that long. Or - if you're feeling rich, buy it (and a new box of Crayons, too) and leave it on the coffee table. Color it - coloring is good for the soul. It is certainly a great conversation starter!