The book of poems, Where the Sidewalk Ends written by Shel Silverstein is completely inappropriate for children as proven in the poem “Sick” because it implies that every lesson parents teach their children is completely wrong and there are no punishments for when children break the rules. For example, in Shel Silverstein’s poem, Sick, the young girl, “Peggy Ann McKay” talks about why she cannot go to school, “A gash, a rash, and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I’m going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox, “(3-8). Peggy’s actions and words show how she exaggerates and lies to her parent and creates an image to children of how they can just lie and say these things so they do not have to go to school. It brings children away from progress in their education, the exact opposite of what especially children’s literature is supposed to …show more content…
Then, we see that when Peggy’s lies are revealed she receives no consequences, “I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what? What’s that? What’s that you say? You say today is--Saturday? G’bye, I’m going out to play!” (29-32). Peggy just gets to skip away and go have fun after telling serious and dangerous lies which sends a message to children that if they lie nothing bad will happen which is the opposite of what parents have spent numerous hours teaching their children. In conclusion, the book, Where the Sidewalk Ends, is an inappropriate book for children because it hinders the enhancement of a child’s character by countering all the lessons that parents spend countless hours teaching their children and also shows how much children should not want to go to school, which can interfere with a love that all parents want their children to have for education and learning, which can affect a child’s future goals and