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Story Time with Sara: The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein
The Missing Piece
written by Shel Silverstein
published by HarperCollins, 2006 (originally published in 1976)
find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads
Did I enjoy this book: Wow, this was a really good read. I actually think I may have gotten a lot more out of it than my children did. However, they both enjoyed it as well! I am familiar with Silverstein’s books of poetry and I have loved them since I was a child. This is the first story of his that I have read, so I’m not sure I knew what to expect.
I thought it was a pretty sweet little story. The whole family enjoyed following the tale of the fun little circle looking for his missing piece. I have to admit I was caught off guard when the story did not end with him finding his piece and living happily ever after; however, upon reflection, it is a much better story this way.
The circle discovers something that even as adults we need to be reminded of. Life is the journey and not the destination. Sometimes our “dreams” aren’t all that we thought they would be and that is okay. These concepts are a bit large for little people to comprehend, but my children had fun talking about how they thought the circle felt when he was looking for his piece and why finding it didn’t make him happy. When I asked my son if there was a time he wanted something very badly only to discover it wasn’t as great after all, he recounted the time he ate too many pieces of pizza and got a tummy ache . . . that’s pretty close . . . I think we can say it counts as emotional education and call it a successful day! 😉
Would I recommend it: I really would. This book fell into my life at a time when I really needed to be reminded to enjoy the little things everyday and not focus so much on the future. The Missing Piece was a fun read that I could share with my children while reflecting on how I need to smell more flowers and talk to more worms!
About the book – from Goodreads:
It was missing a piece.
And it was not happy.
So it set off in search
of its missing piece.
And as it rolled
it sang this song –
Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin’ for my missin’ piece.
What it finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told in this fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.
