“Love That Dog”
Review by The Book Ladies
Special to the Morning News
Do boys write poetry? According to Jack, a third grade student in Miss Stretchberry’s class, they do not. On the first page of “Love That Dog” by Sharon Creech, Jack says, “I don’t want to/ because boys/ don’t write poetry./ Girls do.”
But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry is clever and slowly, through the pages of this easy-to-read book, she encourages Jack to write poetry. The story is told through Jack’s words—his responses to his teacher and his own efforts to put words on paper to make a poem.
He discovers that sometimes poems are just words arranged on a page. Early in the book, he observes that “any words can be a poem./ You’ve just got to/ make/ short/ lines.”
Using familiar poems by famous authors, Miss Stretchberry introduces her class to some well-known poems including “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos William, “ The Pasture” by Robert Frost, and the first stanza of “The Tiger” by William Blake. As Jack tries to understand what the poets meant in their different poems and after reading “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” he comments that “I think that Mr. Robert Frost/ has a little/ too/ much/ time/ on his/ hands.”
As Jack writes more poems, he allows Miss Stretchberry to put the poems on the bulletin board at first without his name (as anonymous), then with his name, then typed and placed on colorful paper.
By trying different styles of poetry, Jack tells the story of his dog Sky and how a car killed Sky.
One of the most endearing points in the book is when Miss Stretchberry reads a poem by Walter Dean Myers—“Love That Boy.” Jack is intrigued by this Mr. Walter Dean Myers person and sends Myers a letter, asking him, if he ever is in their town, to come visit and Miss Stretchberry will make brownies.
While Jack and the other students wait for Myers response (and Miss Stretchberry tells them that it could be months), they continue to read and write poetry.
Finally Mr. Myers writes back and agrees to come visit.
The appearance of Mr. Walter Dean Myers is a delightful twist in the story. Jack’s excitement and wonder at this great author/poet’s presence in his classroom is infectious, and finally Jack completes his grieving for his beloved pet by writing a poem modeled on (or as Miss Stretchberry said—“inspired by”) Mr. Walter Dean Myers poem.
Taken together, “Love That Dog” is a delightful way of introducing children to the process of poetry—listening, discussing, experimenting.
The Craig Poetry Girls read “Love That Dog” and had these comments: “I liked it; it reminded me of when I got my puppy. It is easy to imagine,” said Amber Liljedah.
Sarah Kirk liked it because “It was several simple poems--experimenting.”
“I liked it because [the boy] is complaining in poem form about writing poems, but the author describes everything and [it] sounds like they are writing a letter,” said Emily Miller.
Jocelyn Drgac said, “Even though the majority of the poems were small and short, the book went through what many people go through when they write poetry.”
Sharon Creech also wrote the Newbery Medal-winning “Walk Two Moons”, “Chasing Redbird”, “The Wanderer”, and “Absolutely Normal Chaos.”
“Love That Dog” by Sharon Creech. Joanna Cotler Books/HarperTrophy. New York. 2001. $5.99.
The Book Ladies write a weekly book column and can be reached at 824-5343.
Box:
Love That Boy*
By Walter Dean Myers
Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
“Hey there, son!”
* First stanza