Love That Dog

Love That Dog By Sharon Creech Publisher/Date: Harper Trophy 2001 # of Pages:86 Reading Level: ages 8-12 Genre: Poetry Summary:

This is the story of a boy named Jack and his journey to loving poetry. the entire book is written in poetry format. it seems to be that he is writing in a journal at school because it is implied that his teacher is commenting on his entries. at first he doesn't like poetry, and he thinks it's for girls. however, we find that he begins to like it more and more as the story goes on. some of the poems the teacher assigns him to read inspire him to write some other poetry. the one that affects him the most is one called "Love that Boy" by Walter Dean Myers. it inspires him to write about his dog in his poem "Love that Dog". he writes a letter to him and asks him to come to his class as a guest to talk about his poetry. Walter Dean Myers writes back saying that he is able to come to the class. Jack is really excited about that. throughout the whole book the reader is trying to find out more about this dog that Jack has. it isn't until the end that we find out that the blue car hit his dog, and now his dog is dead.

Who Benefits from reading this book?

I think this is a good book to introduce someone to poetry. it's such an easy read, and the poetry is written in a way that you don't really realize it's poetry, it just feels like a regular story. I think a lot of kids will be able to relate to Jack because a lot of people think they don't like poetry, and because a lot of people have had pets. people who like poetry will also benefit from reading this book since it's written entirely in poetry format.

What problems could this book cause?

I don't find anything wrong with this book. i suppose some people not like to read about his dog dying because it's sad. but other than that i think it's an entirely positive story.

My Reaction:

I really liked this book. it is probably the most unique book i've read in a really long time. i don't know that i've ever read a story like that written in poetry. I thought it was really creative. i liked how some other well known poems were put in the book as well. i remember feeling like Jack did at the beginning when i was going through school. i didn't understand poetry, and i told myself i didn't like it. it hasn't been until recently where i've found that i really enjoy poetry. So this book was a good one for me, and i'd recommend it.