80+ Shel Silverstein Quotes From The Beloved Children's Writer
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The popular American writer and poet, Shel Silverstein was also an established cartoonist, songwriter, and playwright.
The beloved author has written books like 'The Giving Tree', 'Falling Up', 'The Missing Piece', and many more. His works have given hope and motivation to millions.
Shel Silverstein quotes, 'The Giving Tree' quotes and quotes from his other works motivate everyone while making them smile. Listed below are some positive Shel Silverstein quotes that will make everyone think.
For more relatable content, check out our other quotes articles Roald Dahl quotes and 'The Giving Tree' quotes.
Best Shel Silverstein Quotes
Listed below are the best quotes by Shel Silverstein.
1. "How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give 'em."
- Shel Silverstein, 'A Light in the Attic'.
2. "If you want to find out what a writer or a cartoonist really feels, look at his work. That's enough."
- Shel Silverstein.
3. "Tell me I'm sensitive,
Graceful and Wise
Tell me I'm perfect--
But tell me the Truth."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Falling Up'.
4. "What did the paper say to the pen?
'I feel quite all 'write,' my friend.'"
- Shel Silverstein, 'What Did?'.
5. "My beard grows down to my toes,
I never wears no clothes,
I wraps my hair
Around my bare,
And down the road I goes."
- Shel Silverstein, 'My Beard'.
6. "I've discovered a way to stay friends forever -
There's really nothing to it.
I simply tell you what to do
And you do it!"
- Shel Silverstein, 'A Light In The Attic'.
7. "Everything isn't everything."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back'.
8. "Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
9. "Oh, if you're a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you're a bird, be an early early bird-
But if you're a worm, sleep late."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
10. "It's amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
11. "You may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Giving Tree'.
12. "The sides and the back are divine -
It's the bottom I guess we forgot."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
Famous Shel Silverstein Quotes
Check out these famous Shel Silverstein quotes.
13. "Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Giving Tree'.
14. "There are no happy endings.
Endings are the saddest part..."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
15. "Don't know where he's going but sees where he's been."
- Shel Silverstein.
16. "Stand-up comics reflect less of a visual humor and more of a commentary."
- Shel Silverstein.
17. "So please get your rags
And your polishing jars,
Somebody has to go polish the stars."
- Shel Silverstein, 'A Light In The Attic'.
18. "A hippo sandwich is easy to make... And now comes the problem...biting into it!"
- Shel Silverstein, 'Recipe For A Hippopotamus Sandwich'.
19. "Beware of being the roller
When there's nothing left to roll."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Smoke Off.'
20. "How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live 'em."
- Shel Silverstein, 'A Light in the Attic'.
21. "Talked my head off
Worked my tail off
Cried my eyes out
Walked my feet off
Sang my heart out..."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing on It'.
22. "Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin' for my missin' piece."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Missing Piece'.
23. "What did the teapot say to the chalk?
Nothing, you silly...teapots can't talk!"
- Shel Silverstein, 'What Did?'.
24. "You'd better get your laugh while you're making your point, or you won't be doing it very long."
- Shel Silverstein.
25. "And on and on and on and on and on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra about stripes again."
- Shel Silverstein.
26. "If you're mean, that's all right too.
Whatever you are is all okay.
I don't like you anyway."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
27. "Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said..."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
28. "And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin' at all."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
Shel Silverstein Quotes About Life
These Shel Silverstein quotes will change your outlook towards life.
29. "If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
Thinking you can just ain't enough!"
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
30. "If you're behind the times, they won't notice you. If you're right in tune with them, you're no better than they are, so they won't care much for you. Be just a little ahead of them."
- Shel Silverstein.
31. "I believe that if you don't want to do anything, then sit there and don't do it, but don't expect people to hand you a corn beef sandwich and wash your socks for you and unzip your fly for you."
- Shel Silverstein.
32. "Never explain what you do. It speaks for itself. You only muddle it by talking about it."
- Shel Silverstein.
33. "And all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
34. "So just give me a happy middle
And a very happy start."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
35. "It's always a nice feeling, having people think that you feel things much deeper than you're allowed to say, but this isn't true."
- Shel Silverstein.
36. "Underneath my outside face
There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,
But a whole lot more like me."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
37. "Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light."
- Shel Silverstein.
38. "So you see,
There's really not much left of me."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
39. "It's just sometimes it's kind of nice
To be the only bird in town."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Weird-Bird'.
40. "This bridge will take you halfway there - the last few steps you will have to take yourself."
- Shel Silverstein.
41. "He wasted his wishes on wishing."
- Shel Silverstein.
42. "Since my friend left me, I've got nothing to do but walking. I walk to forget. I walk, I escape, I get further. My friend will not come back, now I am a marathon man."
- Shel Silverstein.
Motivational Shel Silverstein Quotes
Here are some inspirational Shel Silverstein quotes.
43. "What's right for you - just listen to
The voice that speaks inside."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Falling Up'.
44. "I myself do not believe in explaining anything."
- Shel Silverstein.
45. "I was always prepared for success but that means that I have to be prepared for failure, too."
- Shel Silverstein.
46. "She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by-
And never knew."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
47. "Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
- Shel Silverstein.
48. "People are always giving you credit for really wanting to say more than you said."
- Shel Silverstein.
49. "So maybe the way,
To make everything right
Is for god to just reach out
And turn off the light!"
- Shel Silverstein.
50. "Although I cannot see your face
As you flip these poems awhile,
Somewhere from some far-off place
I hear you laughing--and I smile."
- Shel Silverstein.
51. "Do a loony-goony dance
Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before."
- Shel Silverstein.
52. "So what if nobody came?
I'll have all the ice cream and tea,
And I'll laugh with myself,
And I'll dance with myself,
And I'll sing, 'Happy Birthday to me!'"
- Shel Silverstein.
53. "To me, freedom entitles you to do something, not to not do something."
- Shel Silverstein.
54. "I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with in my books, pick one up and experience a personal sense of discovery. That's great. But for them, not for me."
- Shel Silverstein.
55. "But all the magic I have known
I've had to make myself."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
Shel Silverstein Love Quotes
Check out these Shel Silverstein quotes on love.
56. "And the boy loved the tree...very much. And the tree was happy."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Giving Tree'.
57. "Just 'cause somethin' ain't been done Don't mean it can't be did."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing on It'.
58. "I can be someone's and still be my own."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Missing Piece'.
59. "When I am gone what will you do?
Who will write and draw for you?
Someone smarter--someone new?
Someone better--maybe you!"
- Shel Silverstein.
60. "We can't hold hands―
Someone might see.
Won't you please
Hold toes with me?"
- Shel Silverstein, 'Every Thing On It'.
61. "So I'm all of love that could make it today."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
62. "I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
63. "Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Missing Piece'.
Popular Shel Silverstein Quotes
Listed below are some well-known quotes by Shel Silverstein.
64. "And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and play king of the forest."
- Shel Silverstein, 'The Giving Tree'.
65. "I made an airplane out of stone. . . I always did like staying home."
- Shel Silverstein.
66. "I am writing these poems from inside a lion."
- Shel Silverstein.
67. "When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?"
- Shel Silverstein.
68. "The baby bat
Screamed out in fright,
'Turn on the dark,
I'm afraid of the light.'"
- Shel Silverstein.
69. "Baby,
I think someone down here
has got it in for you!"
- Shel Silverstein.
70. "This boat that we just built is just fine -
And don't try to tell us it's not."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
71. "But All Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All Ran Away And Hid
From One Little Did."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas'.
72. "Would you like to hear
Of the terrible night
When I bravely fought the—
No?
All right."
- Shel Silverstein.
73. "Oh, what a beautiful picture to see!
Will you draw an invisible picture for me?"
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
74. "It's all the same to the clam."
- Shel Silverstein, 'A Light In The Attic'.
75. "If you're a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax golden tales to spin
Come in!"
- Shel Silverstein.
76. "What did the carrot say to the wheat? Lettuce rest, I'm feeling beet."
- Shel Silverstein, 'What Did?'.
77. "She drank from a bottle called Drink Me
And she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called Taste Me
And down she shrank so small."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Where The Sidewalk Ends'.
78. "Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless.
Christmas dinner's dark and blue.
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view."
- Shel Silverstein.
79. "And he didn't really know where he was going, but he did know he was going somewhere, because you really have to go somewhere, don't you?"
- Shel Silverstein, 'Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back'.
80. "There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
'I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.'
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide."
- Shel Silverstein, 'Falling Up'.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Shel Silverstein quotes then why not take a look at [Dr. Seuss graduation quotes], or 'Where The Wild Things Are' quotes.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management
Moumita DuttaBachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management
A content writer and editor with a passion for sports, Moumita has honed her skills in producing compelling match reports and stories about sporting heroes. She holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta University, alongside a postgraduate diploma in Sports Management.
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