Book 18: Love that Dog

TITLE: Love That Dog
AUTHOR: Sharon Creech
STARTED: May 21, 2009
FINISHED: May 21, 2009
PAGES: 128
GENRE: Juvenile / Poetry

FIRST SENTENCE: I don't want to / because boys / don't write poetry.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] 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.

THOUGHTS: My class read this book aloud in a round robin style. It was pretty cool hearing everyone put their own mood into the poems. Creech's work elicits great emotion with few words. I actually teared up in class as Jack explores his feelings through the poems he writes. Creech writes Jack in such a way that his lively character jumps off the page. Jack is a ball of energy and that comes across throughout the book because of the vibrant language and sassy attitude.

RATING: 6/10 [Good]