3/18/2017 0 Comments Love That Dog2001, Written by Sharon Creech Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2004), Dorothy Canfield Fischer Children's Book Award (2003), Claudia Lewis Award (2002) Jack doesn't like poetry. Poetry is for girls, he says, and besides he wouldn't even know what to say. But when his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, makes Jack write poetry as an in-class assignment, Jack discovers that maybe poetry is not so bad. And that, maybe, he does have something to say. For a novel so small, Love That Dog really packs a punch. Jack's poems are relatable, accessible, and moving. Jack begins by responding to different classic poems like "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams, or "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost with wondrous bafflement (which, as someone with a BA in English Literature, was hilarious), and eventually reveals how affected he is by the recent death of his beloved dog. My favorite part of Love That Dog was the relationship between Jack and his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry. While Ms. Stretchberry never gets a voice in this novel, per se, she is constantly present in Jack's responses to her. She pushes Jack but also supports, uplifts, and celebrates him.
Jack's story will resonate with a lot of young readers. Some details of his life—his race, socioeconomic status—are left vague, so many readers would be able to project themselves onto Jack. Love That Dog deals with the theme of grief in a very graceful way, and I can see this story sticking with young readers for a long time. Resources:
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