Silverstein, Shel, The Missing Piece, New York, HarperCollins.1976
Silverstein's The Missing Piece is a children's book with a very adult message. The book is about a circle that has a piece missing. The circle sets out to look for his missing piece so that he can be whole again. The book tells of his journey. Along the way, he meets many pieces that he tries to fit into his empty space. He rolls up a hill, and stops to talk to a rock, and to let a butterfly land on him. He has a pleasant time with all he meets, but is dissatisfied because he cannot find his missing piece. Finally, when he has rolled to the top of a hill, he finds a piece that fits. He rejoices at reuniting, and the circle, along with his missing piece set out down the hill. This time, though, they do not have time to stop and talk to rocks, and roll right past the butterflies. They are unable to move slowly enough to enjoy the trip. They can no longer enjoy their life because they are too caught up in one another. When they reach the bottom of the hill, they decide that they were better off without each other and go their separate ways. The circle with the missing piece is now able to fully appreciate the things he had before taken for granted.
The Missing Piece is simply written. It has simple pictures and uses simple words. It is short and to the point. It does not present the moral of the story in any written fashion. In short, it is a good book for children. And yet, it has such a complex adult message. It contains a lesson for life important to both children and adults. Perhaps it is because the book is so simply written that it holds such a powerful impact. The language and pictures present such a clear storyline that it is impossible to misinterpret. It leaves the reader to draw his own conclusions, and even lets him determine the moral for himself. It provokes thought on the part of the reader. The very style that Silverstein chose intended this. She does not tell the reader exactly what the book means, or what they should get out of it. In this way, she forces the reader to find out these things for himself. The book is ingeniously written, to appeal not only to the children it was written for, but also to anyone who has had experience in the world of grown-ups. It teaches an important life value that will stay with children as they grow, and bring light to the muddied understanding of many adults.
I heard this story when I was six years old. It was not, however, being read to me, or to any other children. It was being read to an adult class based on overcoming codependency. It had a profound effect on me as the meaning of the story presented it. I believe, too, that it held much weight with those in the class. It was a new concept for me, and a revelation for the adults, that one does not need someone else to be happy. As I have grown, this has been a concept that has helped me many times. We often spend our whole lives searching for our "missing piece," never appreciating the life we live along the way. I have learned that it is important to be whole within ourselves, and that no one can fill our empty space without taking more from us than we are gaining. I have learned that we must depend on ourselves, not others to make us happy because no one is perfect, and any human will eventually let us down. It is quite a feat that a children's book could teach such a valuable lesson!
Quite often, books or movies made for children contain very adult concepts. Silverstein's book Where the Sidewalk Ends, a book of poetry for children, applies a lot of adult humor and morals. Many of her books do this. Walt Disney's classic animations Robin Hood and Aladdin also contain adult humor. Perhaps adult humor and content in children’s stories is intentional on the part of the writer, or perhaps it is only because an adult writer cannot help but to present adult ideas. I tend to prefer the former. There are many children's books that have little or no meaning for adults, all of them written by adults. I think that it is commendable for an author to be able to write a book for both children and adults, especially one with so powerful a message as Silverstein's The Missing Piece.
Silverstein wrote a simple children's story of a little circle with a missing piece. This story, though, is more than that. It is a lesson in life meant for both children and adults. It is a book that teaches the value of learning to be happy in yourself. It is a children's book that likely is more of a benefit to adults. Many authors write children's stories with adult humor or concepts, but few so eloquently as Shel Silverstein. The Missing Piece is wonderfully written and presented: a book for a child or an adult.