Love That Dog

Creech, S., & Wolf, S. (2005). Love that dog. New York, N.Y.: Harper

Summary:

Jack just does not like poetry, but his teacher Miss Stretchberry believes that he is a poet and asks for everyone to read and write poetry. Jack reluctantly begins writing about alot of interesting things and the more he does, the more his writing eventually improves. Jack is able to cope with a difficult moment by writing the story about his dog, Sky and how it was struck by a car. 

Evaluative Criteria:

A simple, free verse poetry styled book that tells the story of Jack, a boy who is reluctant to give poetry a try, but eventually realizes he enjoys it from learning a lesson from his teacher. The story is simple, it is easy to read, and is written similar to diary entries. The small size of the book will definitely appeal to those readers who are reluctant or struggle with most texts. Students who enjoy reading about dogs may also be compelled to read this book and find it entertaining and inspiring. This book can be sold to young readers by allowing teachers to showcase it during their poetry unit or during National Poetry Month and using pages of the poems to display and give QR codes to “unlock” similar poems.

Other novels by Sharon Creech

Hate That Cat, is the sequel following Jack’s new found interest in poetry where we learn more about his family. The novel follows the same format of free verse poetry and student responses.

A Fine, Fine School differs from Love That Dog in that it is a picture book with a principal as the main character. It shares a similar school setting and shows the main character learning a lesson from a student.

Absolutely Normal Chaos shares the story of Mary Lou Finney another student who writes her entries in journal form.