SOURCE: Review of A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein. Publishers Weekly 220 (18 September 1981): 155.

In the following review, the reviewer praises A Light in the Attic as a treasure for fans of Silverstein's poetry.

It seems certain that the new book by the inimitable author-illustrator will be as eagerly welcomed as The Giving Tree and his other bestsellers. This [A Light in the Attic] is a big, fat treasure for Silverstein devotees, with trenchant verses expressing high-flown, exhilarating nonsense as well as thoughts unexpectedly sober and even sad. For instance, the dialogue between a very old man and a small boy reveals that both sometimes drop their spoons, wet their pants and cry, and worst of all, grownups pay no attention to them. Silverstein's inspired ink drawings illustrate each poem, with an especially provocative scene accompanying his ideas on “Rockabye Baby”: “Don't you know a treetop / Is no...