Customer Reviews

Love That Dog

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

As Jack tells us in his writing journal on the first day of his class' poetry unit: "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry./Girls do./I tried./Can't do it./Brain's empty." But as hard as he resists the idea, poetry begins to seep into that empty brain. At first the works his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, introduces make little sense to him. "Why doesn't the person just/keep going if he's got/so many miles to go/before he sleeps?" Eventually, the poetry seductively captures him, and he writes about William Blake's, The Tiger: "I am sorry to say/I did not really understand/the tiger tiger burning bright poem/but at least it sounded good/in my ears./Some of the tiger sounds/are still in my ears/like drums/beat-beat-beating." When Miss Stretchberry reads Walter Dean Myers', Love That Boy, it all comes together, and Jack is finally hooked, "I copied that BEST poem/and hung it on my/bedroom wall/right over my bed/where I can/see it when I'm/lying/down." As the story continues, he begins to open up, write his own verse, and with the guidance of his teacher and inspiration of his new favorite poet, finally puts down on paper the poem that's been inside of him all along just waiting to come out; the story of his beloved dog, Sky, who was hit by a car..... Newberry Award Winner, Sharon Creech, has outdone herself with this marvelously sensitive, sometimes poignant, often amusing little masterpiece. Her simple text, told in free verse, and written in the voice of a ten or eleven year old, explores the power of words, their rhythm, and energy, how they can inspire, captivate, and elicit feelings. Young and old, alike will be entranced as they begin this wonderful journey with Jack on his lifelong adventure with the love of words. Ms Creech has included the poems used by Miss Stretchberry at the end of the book, and this is a good starting point for young poetry lovers. Perfect for kids 9-12, Love That Dog is a treasure to be read and shared by everyone.

This short 86-page poetic novel is made for every child who has ever resisted reading a poem, or writing one.

The story pulls details from eight poems. In September, Jack, the child narrator in Miss Stretchberry's Room 105, can't understand an unnamed "poem about/the red wheelbarrow/and the white chickens" (William Carlos Williams). In October, a few pages later, he fails to grasp "the tiger tiger burning bright poem/but at least it sounded good in my ears" (William Blake). By January, he's concluded that "Mr. Robert Frost/ who wrote/about the pasture/ was also the one/ who wrote about/ those snowy woods/ and the miles to go/ before he sleeps---well!"

That is also the month Jack writes a poem about his family's trip to the dog pound. There, he chose from among "big and small/ fat and skinny/ some of them/ hiding in the corner/ but most of them bark-bark-barking and/ jumping up against the wire cage" a yellow dog standing "with his paws curled around the wire/and his long red tongue/ hanging out".

By March, Jack has waxed enthusiastic about a poem by "Mr. Walter Dean Myers/ the best best BEST/ poem/ever." He has even related it to his experience with the yellow dog, whom he named Sky. In April, Jack writes to Mr. Walter Dean Myers. And in May the poet agrees to visit the school. As Mr. Walter Dean Myers reads poems to the class on June 1, Jack finds "All of my blood/in my veins/ was bubbling/and all of the thoughts/ in my head/ were buzzing." That's about how it feels to love a poem.

Several other important details make this book a keeper--not least, what happened to Jack's dog, and his closing poem.

At the end, Creech shares the eight poems to which she refers throughout: William Carlos Williams' "Red Wheelbarrow," Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "The Pasture," William Blake's "Tiger," Valerie Worth's "dog," Arnold Adoff's "Street Music," S.C. Rigg's "The Apple," and Walter Dean Myers' "Love That Boy."

If you want children to love poems, just give them this one. Alyssa A. Lappen

A wonderful story told in free verse and in journal format. As a teacher, I cannot think of a more valuable tool for modeling how to write poetry, a response journal, and elements of a story. The story evolves in a series of short, pithy poems written by Jake as he responds to his teacher's attempts to introduce a love of poetry and elicit more information in his responses. It is told completely in Jake's words, although you can easily infer the teacher's comments. I have to admit this is my favorite book that I have read this summer (over 75) and can't wait to use it in class. An extra treat is the inclusion of an appendix containing most of the poems mentioned in the story.

I fell hard for this book. I love poetry, I love my dogs, I love my kids, who, like Jack in this book, are developing a sensitivity to language. I'm also a huge fan of Karen Hesse's _Out of the Dust_, not only because it tells a meaningful, heartfelt story, but also because it's told in blank verse. If children are read and fall as hard as I did for _Love That Dog_, I and my fellow college and university English teachers will not have a problem once the kids make it to higher education. They'll already love poetry.

Love that Dog is about a boy named Jack who had a dog that died, and now he is writing in his poem journal, but he believes that poetry is not for boys. Yeah, right. He writes some beginner's poetry but they are inspired by other professional poetry, and he gets better and more confident at writing poetry throughout the book. He writes poems inspired by the works of Robert Frost, Arnold Adoff and many more.

This is a book of humor and poetry, similar to Amelia's Notebook and a Shel Silverstein book combined. The author writes this way because emotions are better expressed in poetry than in prose. It shows young writers how to get ideas inspired by another author. It is a good book for people who like letter books where the whole book is letters. It is for young readers who like poetry. This is a very good book by a very good author.

I was delighted to discover this book and have thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with my students as well as my own children. LOVE THAT DOG is a delicious way to introduce young readers to free verse poetry...

However, in reading this book we are to believe that the poems are written by a young elementary student. In all honesty, Jack's attempts read very much like prose that is simply rearranged on the page with poetry-like line breaks. Students I have worked with through the years are capable of so much more!

So, while I LOVE this book and will continue to use it in my classroom, I certainly don't intend to neglect other poetry books that have delighted and inspired my young creative writers such as: ALL THE SMALL POEMS by Valerie Worth and LITTLE DOG POEMS by Kristine O'Connell George. LITTLE DOG POEMS, in combination with LOVE THAT DOG, is particularly powerful since these short poems are not only about a much-loved dog, but are also written in a first-person child's voice.

Worth, George, and other many other poets are needed in the "mix" to help young writers and readers understand that poetry is not *just* short lines and a lot of white space -- but that poetry is also about metaphor, imagery, and some of the amazing and surprising connections that can be made through lanaguage when we write poetry.

Sharon Creech, a well known and amazing author, who's written many books. Love That Dog, I believe is one of her best! A touching book about a boy who rebels on poems for school. When I saw the book it was only made up of poems and I was not interested, but reading other Sharon Creech books, Chasing Redbird, Bloomability (etc.) I thought I should give it a try. What a good choice! The book is a heat-warming story of a boy and his love of his dog. I believe it to be one of Mrs. Creech's best!

A must have to share with kids! It is about a fifth grade boy who detests writing, mostly poems. Creech does an amazing job of taking you through a diary of the boys writing journal and his thoughts that coincidently turn into superb poetry. He thinks poetry is for girls but realizes that poetry doesn't have to rhyme and more importantly need not be only for girls. Very inspirational for students' writing and heart felt as the boy deals with his feelings about a dog he sees at the pound.

If you are like me and you don't like to write you will like to write after you read this book. Love That Dog is a good book because I could relate to a boy named Jack didn't like to write and I didn't either. After he found an inspiration and I did too. He wrote a poem about his dog and I wrote a long story about my dogs. That's why I think this a good book!

When I first looked at this book I thought it was not going to be a book that's fun but I was wrong. I really liked it and even want to read it again. Give it a try.