Love That Dog

Bibliography:
Creech, Sharon. 2001. LOVE THAT DOG. New York, NY: Turtleback Books. ISBN: 9780060292898.






Review:
In Love That Dog, Jack, a young school boy, keeps a journal of his thoughts, experiences, and his feelings on poetry and his dog. The journal is written in free verse and often reveals the thoughts on the poetry presented in his school classroom and features his own poems inspired by famous poets. In the beginning, Jack sees no sense in William Carlos Williams' “The Red Wheelbarrow”, but as time passes and his own poetic talent develops he begins to think that “Maybe the wheelbarrow poet was just making a picture with words”. As Jack is introduced to classic poems such as “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and “Love that Dog” by Walter Dean Myers he develops his own poetic voice and embraces his burgeoning talent. Readers will delight in seeing famous poems referenced and children and adults alike will laugh out loud at Jack's humorous thoughts regarding the classic poems. The novel also includes all the poems referenced throughout the story so those new to poetry will gain a better understanding of Jack's words.

Excerpt: “September 27”

I don't understand
the poem about
the red wheelbarrow
and the white chickens
and why so much
depends upon
them.

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.

Introducing the Poem:
Sharon Creech's Love That Dog is a touching and humorous novel that readers of any age will embrace. The best environment to introduce Love That Dog would the same environment in which the novel is set. This novel is perfect to introduce to students who are new to poetry or are still having trouble grasping poetry's importance and, from it, the joy that can be found. In a classroom setting the novel could be read aloud and the poem's referenced introduced. Students could keep their own poetry journal as Jack did, and record their thoughts on poetry and Jack's novel as well their original poems.