- He wrote the song "A Boy Named Sue" after attending a judicial conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (a town mentioned in the song), at which a featured speaker was a male prosecutor named Sue Hicks.
- His best-known books, "The Giving Tree" (1964) and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1974), were reissued in deluxe editions in 2004.
- Johnny Cash recorded two of Silverstein's poems, "A Boy Named Sue" (1969) which reached No. 2 on the Billboard "Hot 100". He also recorded "25 Minutes to Go", first released on his legendary comeback LP "At Folsom Prison" (1968).
- He wrote several songs for the 1970s group 'Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show'.
- Music composer, author and poet.
- Honored by a USA nondenominated commemorative postage stamp issued 8 April 2022. The stamp shows Silverstein's drawing from his book "The Giving Tree", where a boy in overalls has his arms outstretched to catch an apple falling from the tree. Price of the stamp on the day of issue was 58¢. "Shel Silverstein" is shown in black lettering across the bottom of the stamp. The first-day-of-issue ceremony was held at Charles R. Darwin Elementary School, which Silverstein attended as a youngster.
- He was awarded the 1983 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work for "Gorilla" at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
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