Early Bird

Early Bird - context Summary

Published 1974 in Where the Sidewalk Ends

Published in Shel Silverstein’s 1974 collection Where the Sidewalk Ends, "Early Bird" is a short, playful children’s poem that flips a familiar proverb. It gives pragmatic advice from opposing viewpoints: the bird should rise early to catch the worm, while the worm should do the opposite and sleep late to survive. The poem uses humor and perspective to make a simple moral about timing and self-preservation accessible to young readers.