Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

It's hard to know how to classify this book- Is it a novel? A journal? A writer's notebook? A narrative? Whatever it is, it's a great read, and for those kids who don't like to read, this is a quick read for them. Sharon Creech's novel Love That Dog is not the typical formulaic novel. The setup of this novel is so unique that we develop alongside Jack as he comes to understand and love poetry. With few words per page, Jack slowly discovers the magic of poetry. At first, Jack is the stereotypical model of a student who is inexperienced with poetry. He has preconceived notions about its purpose and place in his life. He thinks poetry is girly and not for him. He thinks poetry has to fit a certain formula and prescription, but soon Jack realizes the versatility of poetry and the impact it can have on his life. Poetry allows an individual to express their emotions in a healthy way. It gives you a voice and chance to be heard.

The whole book is in poetry, which I found unique. As that silly little poem goes, Jack is a poet and doesn't even know it. When Jack mentioned different poems he read in class, I found myself looking at the back of the novel where the poems used in Miss Stretchberry's class are kept. It helped me better understand Jack's perspective. Many of the poems I read and analyzed in high school myself so it was interesting to view the poems from a child's perspective and what young students can get from a poem. I also found it interesting how Jack was hesitant to have people read his work. He desired to keep his poems anonymous, but as he progressed through poetry, Jack grows as a poet and likes have his working on display. He wants his work on that special yellow paper. As Jack learns different techniques in poetry, he applies it to his own writing. By seeing examples, Jack is inspired to write.

Sharon Creech did an amazing job combining how Jack learned to write poetry along with his story about his dog. Through poetry, Jack is able to slowly process his feelings about his dog and remember specific memories. Writing poetry gives Jack comfort. As future teachers, we can be like Miss Stretchberry by encouraging students to write and let everything out on paper. Writing can be a type of therapy, and while we might not explicitly tell students this, they may begin to realize this for themselves. Students can develop a list together about what purposes poetry (and writing in general) can serve in daily life. Only as Jack is given the opportunity to process his feelings does he begin to heal emotionally. Eventually, Jack mentions his dog's name, Sky. One of my favorite entries Jack wrote was April 26, which wasn't even about Sky. It was about an experience that commonly happen to anyone and everyone. "Sometimes when you are trying not to think about something it keeps coming back...you think about it and think about it and think about it until your brain feels like a squashed pea."Jack also uses poetry in letter form and shape form. Poetry does not have to rhyme. It does not have to have a rhythm. It doesn't even have to tell a story. Of course it can have any or all of these things, but really, poetry can be everything and anything. This is a great book for kids to find their inner poet. It's in all of us.