The Sarcastic Side of Children’s Literature

by Stephanie Reister   Rowan Public Library

Having worked with children’s literature for many years, a lot of my favorite authors are geared toward that audience. Three children’s book authors I enjoy use a sarcastic sense of humor, clever morals, and also appeal to adults.

Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl and Theodor Geisel were interesting characters in their own rights. They were not known for being cuddly or overly cheerful. They all had military backgrounds. They started their careers writing for adult audiences and then, in a rare move decades ago, crossed over to children’s literature.

I love the accessible poetry and stories of Shel Silverstein, even though he did not give happy endings. Reading his poem “Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out” from Where the Sidewalk Ends gave me pause as a kid. What happens when you keep refusing to take out the garbage? It’s eventually too late!

Silverstein’s sentimental story The Giving Tree even has an edge. The boy starts out adoring the tree, and then as time goes on takes advantage of the tree’s unconditional love. “And the tree was happy” it seems every time she gives something of herself to the boy. As an old man, the tree apologetically can only offer him a stump to sit on. The “boy” sits on the stump, but never thanks the tree, even in old age. This melancholy book is a spark for conversation between adults and children about gratitude.

Roald Dahl is another timeless author. His Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a classic and cautionary tale about raising children without manners. Willy Wonka and the Oompa-Loompas impart their wisdom in a way that is straight forward and clever. The morals are for both the children and their parents. Charlie and his grandpa have the virtue of patience, so their whole family is rewarded. The ending is pretty cheerful given the dark tone of the book, but is still satisfying.

I really can’t leave out Theodor Geisel, the immortal Dr. Seuss. In many of his books, it is the children who are the voice of reason. Adults and even a cat are the ones doing illogical things that need to be corrected.

The Butter Battle Book offers a warning about the makings of war. The Yooks and the Zooks start with the frivolous difference in how they butter their bread. The competition/threat between the groups escalates until each side has a Big-Boy Boomeroo they are willing to drop. Geisel leaves readers wondering whether they will.

The Sneetches is about the prejudice Star-Belly Sneetches show against the Plain-Belly ones. Along comes Sylvester McMonkey McBean with a sly money-making scheme. He has one machine to put stars on bellies and one to take them off. The Sneetches spend all their money going back and forth, until none of them know which kind of Sneetch they really are. They figure out “that Sneetches are Sneetches.”

Silverstein, Dahl and Geisel use humor that delivers messages about the consequences of our actions. These authors on the surface seem cynical and abrasive, but they offer the optimism of being able to change one’s ways. It’s their unusual approach to storytelling that has made them much-loved mainstays in children’s literature for generations.