's Best of 2001
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

From Publishers Weekly
In last year's Fishing in the Air, Creech took a spare, metaphorical approach to a father-son relationship. Here she examines the bond between a boy and his dog to create an ideal homage to the power of poetry and those who write it. The volume itself builds like a poem. Told exclusively through Jack's dated entries in a school journal, the book opens with his resistance to writing verse: "September 13/ I don't want to/ because boys/ don't write poetry./ Girls do." Readers sense the gentle persistence of Jack's teacher, Miss Stretchberry, behind the scenes, from the poems she reads in class and from her coaxing, to which the boy alludes, until he begins to write some poems of his own. One by William Carlos Williams, for instance, inspires Jack's words: "So much depends/ upon/ a blue car/ splattered with mud/ speeding down the road." A Robert Frost poem sends Jack into a tale (in verse) of how he found his dog, Sky. At first, his poems appear to be discrete works. But when a poem by Walter Dean Myers ("Love That Boy" from Brown Angels) unleashes the joy Jack felt with his pet, he becomes even more honest in his poetry. Jack's next work is cathartic: all of his previous verses seemed to be leading up to this pi ce de r sistance, an admission of his profound grief over Sky's death. He then can move on from his grief to write a poem ("inspired by Walter Dean Myers") about his joy at having known and loved his dog. As in any great poem, the real story surfaces between the lines. From Jack's entries, readers learn how unobtrusively his teacher guides him to poems he can collect and emulate, and how patiently she convinces him to share his own work. By exposing Jack and readers to the range of poems that moves Jack (they appear at the back of the book), Creech conveys a life truth: pain and joy exist side by side. For Jack and for readers, the memory of that dog lives on in his poetry. Readers will love that dog, and this book. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 4-8-Jack keeps a journal for his teacher, a charming, spare free-verse monologue that begins: "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry./Girls do." But his curiosity grows quickly as Miss Stretchberry feeds the class a varied menu of intriguing poems starting with William Carlos Williams's "The Red Wheelbarrow," which confuses Jack at first. Gradually, he begins to see connections between his personal experiences and the poetry of William Blake, Robert Frost, and others, and Creech's compellingly simple plot about love and loss begins to emerge. Jack is timid about the first poems he writes, but with the obvious encouragement and prodding of his masterful teacher, he gains the courage to claim them as his own in the classroom displays. When he is introduced to "Love That Boy" by Walter Dean Myers, he makes an exuberant leap of understanding. "MARCH 14/That was the best best BEST/poem/you read yesterday/by Mr. Walter Dean Myers/the best best BEST/poem/ever./I am sorry/I took the book home/without asking./I only got/one spot/on it./That's why/the page is torn./I tried to get/the spot/out." All the threads of the story are pulled together in Jack's final poem, "Love That Dog (Inspired by Walter Dean Myers)." Creech has created a poignant, funny picture of a child's encounter with the power of poetry. Readers may have a similar experience because all of the selections mentioned in the story are included at the end. This book is a tiny treasure.Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WICopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Sharon Creech manages to connect several themes and lessons in this simple yet touching book about a boy and his dog. At school Jack just doesn't understand poetry or why he has to learn to write it. In free verse, as the words start out simple yet clear, we hear this reluctance to look for deeper meaning and his lack of confidence in writing anything that will be seen by others. But slowly, as he reaches deeper, Jack finds his voice--full of warmth, love, sadness, and loss. Scott Wolf does a memorable job, finding the right intonations, pacing, and emotion to make Jack's journey very real. As a story alone or a wonderful accompaniment for teaching poetry, this book gets high marks all around. W.L.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 3-6. In simple free verse, Jack tells his teacher that he cares nothing about poetry and sees no point in that snowy woods stuff: "Why doesn't the person just / keep going if he's got / so many miles to go before he sleeps?". But despite himself, he's enraptured by what his teacher is reading: the beat of "Tiger, tiger burning bright" just won't go away. At the same time, he's writing poetry in his own voice about himself, culminating in a breathtaking poem about what happened to his beloved dog. At the end, Creech overdoes Jack's fawning adoration of author Walter Dean Myers, who comes to school at Jack's behest, but that won't stop kids from recognizing both Jack's new exuberance and his earlier uptight mood. Best of all, the story shows how poetry inspires reading and writing with everyday words that make personal music. This is a book for teachers to read aloud and talk about with kids. Some of the poems Jack's teacher reads are appended, including Myers' wonderful "Love That Boy." Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
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)

ANNOTATION

A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"Creech examines the bond between a boy and his dog to create an ideal homage to the power of poetry and those who write it," said PW in a boxed review. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Children's Literature

Newbery-winning author, Sharon Creech, uses verse in Love That Dog At first, Jack, the narrator of the book, is skeptical about poetry. He begins, "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry. /Girls do." He's a bit more open in his second entry, "I tried. /Can't do it. /Brain's empty." In a believable sequence of poems, Jack comes to appreciate poets like William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost and his interpretations of their work give glimpses into his tender heart and clever mind and we know why his teacher works so hard to draw him out. By the story's end he has been captured by the power of poetry, and inspired by the work of Walter Dean Myers. Jack writes a poignant poem about his beloved dog. Poetry is the perfect vehicle for a book about a boy's acceptance and imitations of this genre. The poems mirror and guide his creativity and courage to risk. In under 100 pages of short verses, the author exposes children to some wonderful poems and tracks Jack's journey into artistry with the very form that speaks to him. 2001, HarperCollins, $14.95. Ages 9 to 12. Reviewer: Susie Wilde

The Five Owls

If poetry is the power of few words, then Love That Dog by Newbery Award-winning novelist Sharon Creech is a delightful poem of a novel. On the surface, it is the poetry journal of a boy named Jack. The journal entries begin September 13th and, over the course of a school year, not only do they demonstrate the emergence of a talented young poet but also reveal a secret about Jack's life. Why does Jack not want to write about his yellow dog and why does "so much depend" on a "blue car/ spattered with mud/ speeding down a road"? Although Jack is skeptical at first because "boys/ don't write poetry./ Girls do," his jewel of a teacher, Miss Stretchberry, is gradually able to engage him in reading and writing poetry. Her name alone suggests a talented and sensitive teacher who is able to "stretch" a child's emotional and intellectual growth. Jack's weekly responses to her lessons and letters to him are humorous and believable. The book could easily be used in elementary classrooms in conjunction with a poetry unit. Creech, a talented poet and teacher herself, demonstrates a deep understanding of how young minds open to poetry through reading and responding. Journaling for Jack is obviously therapeutic. His journal entries get progressively longer and more confident. Wonderful poems by poets like William Carlos Williams, William Blake, Robert Frost, Arnold Adoff, and especially Walter Dean Myers convince Jack that poetry is not just for girls. Lines from these poems inspire and inform Jack's writing, and when Myers actually comes to talk to Miss Stretchberry's class, Jack comes down with a serious case of hero worship. He wants to "keep Mr. Walter Dean Myers . . . forever." Jack's poem "Lovethat Dog" is inspired by Myers's "Love That Boy" (Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse, HarperCollins, 1993): Love that dog, / like a bird loves to fly / I said I love that dog / like a bird loves to fly / Love to call him in the morning / love to call him / "Hey there, Sky!" When, at the end, he is able to proudly send Myers his poem, it is obvious that Jack has found his inner voice. The cover art by William Steig is eye-catchingly different and startlingly apt, a visual haiku. With its simple black sketch of a lop-eared dog on a yellow background, it could easily be something a child might have drawn for a book report. Although Love That Dog is intended for eight- to twelve-year-olds, poetry lovers of all ages will enjoy this book. So, with inspiration from Myers and Creech, I would like to conclude with this recommendation: Love this book, / like a boy loves his dog, / I said I love this book / like a boy loves his dog, / love to read this book / like a salad loves a carrot, / love to recommend it / as a Five Owls' Book of Merit. 2001, Joanna Cotler, 112 pages, Lindow

School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-Jack keeps a journal for his teacher, a charming, spare free-verse monologue that begins: "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry./Girls do." But his curiosity grows quickly as Miss Stretchberry feeds the class a varied menu of intriguing poems starting with William Carlos Williams's "The Red Wheelbarrow," which confuses Jack at first. Gradually, he begins to see connections between his personal experiences and the poetry of William Blake, Robert Frost, and others, and Creech's compellingly simple plot about love and loss begins to emerge. Jack is timid about the first poems he writes, but with the obvious encouragement and prodding of his masterful teacher, he gains the courage to claim them as his own in the classroom displays. When he is introduced to "Love That Boy" by Walter Dean Myers, he makes an exuberant leap of understanding. "MARCH 14/That was the best best BEST/poem/you read yesterday/by Mr. Walter Dean Myers/the best best BEST/poem/ever./I am sorry/I took the book home/without asking./I only got/one spot/on it./That's why/the page is torn./I tried to get/the spot/out." All the threads of the story are pulled together in Jack's final poem, "Love That Dog (Inspired by Walter Dean Myers)." Creech has created a poignant, funny picture of a child's encounter with the power of poetry. Readers may have a similar experience because all of the selections mentioned in the story are included at the end. This book is a tiny treasure.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile