A boy who insists he can't write poetry discovers, poem by poem, that he has something to say
A boy, a teacher and a yellow dog
Jack does not want to write poetry. He thinks it is for girls, he does not understand the poems his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, reads to the class, and he is sure he has nothing to write about. But Miss Stretchberry keeps encouraging him, and Jack keeps answering in his journal, in short, plain lines that, without his noticing, begin to look like poems.
Who will enjoy it
Readers aged about eight to twelve, and teachers, who enjoy short, heartfelt stories and want a gentle way into poetry.
What you will get
A short, funny and deeply moving novel in verse about a reluctant boy who learns to love poetry and finds the words for his own sadness.
Love That Dog Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Novel in verse · Poetry · Dogs
Length
128 pages · ≈ 4 h
More about this book
Over the school year, Jack reads poems by Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams and other famous writers, and he responds to each one, first with confusion and complaints, then with questions, and finally with his own poems written in the same styles. He is especially moved by a poem by Walter Dean Myers, and he gathers the courage to write to the author and invite him to visit his school.
Gradually Jack reveals the story he has been holding back: the story of Sky, the yellow dog he loved, and what happened to him. The loss is handled with great tenderness, and Jack's voice, honest and funny, makes it all the more affecting. Sharon Creech shows how poetry can help people say things that are hard to say, and how a good teacher listens. The poems Jack reads are printed at the back of the book.
Funny, tender and quick to read, a book that many children remember long after reading it and that works wonderfully in the classroom. It is followed by Hate That Cat, which continues Jack's story. About 128 pages in the HarperCollins paperback.
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