Love That Dog
From AwardAnnals
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| Author(s) | Sharon Creech |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | A Novel |
| Publisher | Joanna Cotler |
| Honors | |
| Slowly Jack learns the pleasures of writing poetry as Miss Stretchberry encourages him to tell his own story through verse. What emerges is a moving and memorable story about a boy and his dog and his growing passion for poetry. | |
I guess it does
look like a poem
when you see it
typed up
like that.
Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won’t stop giving her class poetry assignments—and Jack can’t avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.
With a fresh and deceptively simple style, acclaimed author Sharon Creech tells a story with enormous heart. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack’s point of view, Love That Dog shows how one boy finds his own voice with the help of a teacher, a writer, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog.
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog, a funny, sweet, original short novel written in free verse, introduces us to an endearingly unassuming, straight-talking boy who discovers the powers and pleasures of poetry. Against his will. After all, “boys don’t write poetry. Girls do.” What does he say of the famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”? “I think Mr. Robert Frost / has a little / too / much / time / on his / hands.” As his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, introduces the canon to the class, however, he starts to see the light. Poetry is not so bad, it’s not just for girls, and it’s not even that hard to write. Take William Carlos Williams, for example: “If that is a poem / about the red wheelbarrow / and the white chickens / then any words / can be a poem. / You’ve just got to / make / short / lines.” He becomes more and more discerning as the days go by, and readers’ spirits will rise with Jack’s as he begins to find his own voice through his own poetry and through that of others. His favorite poem of all is a short, rhythmic one by Walter Dean Myers called “Love That Boy” (included at the end of the book with all the rest of Ms. Stretchberry’s assignments). The words completely captivate him, reminding him of the loving way his dad calls him in the morning and of the way he used to call his yellow dog, Sky. Jack’s reverence for the poem ultimately leads to meeting the poet himself, an experience he will never forget.
This winning, accessible book is truly remarkable in that Creech lets us witness firsthand how words can open doors to the soul. And this from a boy who asks, “Why doesn’t the person just / keep going if he’s got / so many miles to go / before he sleeps?” (Ages 8 to 12) —Karin Snelson
Barnes and Noble
Newbery Medal-winning author Sharon Creech tells a moving, amusing, and heartwarming tale in Love That Dog, a story written in freewheeling prose disguised as poetry. And poetry is something that young Jack can’t stand—it’s confusing and odd and strictly for girls. But he can’t seem to escape it, since his teacher insists on giving out assignments that require him to read and write the stuff. When he creates his own poetry and the teacher wants to post it on a board for the class to see, Jack insists on anonymity. But once he sees how good his poetry looks typed out in neat letters on yellow paper and hears approbation from his peers, he finally lays claim to his work.
As Jack struggles with his aversion to poetry, he finds delight in some unexpected places—poems written in specific shapes, phrases he particularly likes, or images he can easily relate to. When he dissects the poems he is assigned to read, he provides his own childlike insight to the words of such literary greats as Robert Frost, William Blake, and Walter Dean Myers, making the whole concept of poetry less daunting. Before long, Jack begins to think that poetry isn’t quite as bad as he once thought, and he even finds inspiration for writing some of his own after reading the words of Myers, who plays a more pivotal role by the book’s end. In between his musings and writing, Jack also provides glimpses into his day-to-day life, where the meaning behind the book’s title becomes joyfully, then tragically, clear.
Jack’s comments about the poems he is assigned to study are further illuminated by the inclusion of the full works at the back of the book. And while Creech does tackle some painful subject matter, the bulk of this tale is as fun-loving and free-spirited as Jack’s own exploratory verse. If she’s not careful, Creech may create a whole new generation of poetry lovers. (Beth Amos)
