A Boy Named Shel

Shel Silverstein's drawings and comic poems are bedtime staples of millions of children, and biographer Rogak tells the story of a life as antic and adventurous as any of his creations. A man with an incurable case of wanderlust, Shel kept homes on both coasts and many places in between--and enjoyed regular stays in the Playboy Mansion. Everywhere he went he charmed neighbors, made countless friends, and romanced almost as many women. Much more than "just" a children's writer, he collaborated freely and found success in a wider range of genres than most artists ever attempt. He penned hit songs like "A Boy Named Sue," and got his big break with Playboy. He wrote experimental plays and collaborated on scripts with David Mamet. With a seemingly unending stream of fresh ideas, he worked compulsively and enthusiastically on a wide array of projects up until his death in 1999. --From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction, Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.