Sir Silly: The World Where Words Play, by David Dayan Fisher, is described as “a collection of poems for any child from the ages of 4 to 94.” And while this is mostly true, there are a few poems here that I would reserve for those “children” over the age of 20, such as this one:
Lazy Day
Under the shade of a tree,
I sit in silence, with my dogs beside me.
The sound of the bees
And the birds in the trees.
The peace of nothing, all around me.
The green of it all, from the short to the tall.
The lush grass blanket,
The branched out oak,
The bushes that cover the hills like a cloak.
Quiet with the noise of nature,
The sounds of natural life.
Under a tree in the park with my dogs
Is a wonderful hour away from the wife.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to explain to my children why this man wants to get away from “the wife” or why he refers to her in a negative manner. In another poem, “The Adult and The Child,” the child calls the grown-up “boring and old” and that “old is not smarter … you forgot how to be silly.” This is a good lesson for adults, but the disrespectful tone of the child is not a good example for kids.
Other poems, however, are entirely appropriate for children of any age, such as the following:
The Dog
I like to sit
And lie around.
I don’t need much,
It’s true.
Some food,
A treat,
And lots of love,
And a nice juicy bone to chew.
There’s also a longer poem that makes a great lesson for kids. It’s called “The Ant and Elefant,” and it describes how the ant wants to be big like the elephant and the elephant wants to be small like the ant. In the end, however, they decide that they’re both perfect just as they are.
Fisher’s poems are mostly delightful, definitely silly, but not all for small children, so parents should read them first before reading them with the kids. Learn more at www.sirsilly.com.
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