Love that poetry

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech is the story of Jack who keeps a journal for his teacher in the form of free verse poetry. Surprisingly, he does this even though he does not like poetry. His teacher, Miss Stretchberry introduces Jack to poets like Robert Frost, William Carlos Willliams, William Blake and Walter Dean Myers. A special reward awaits Jack at the end of the school year as a famous poet visits his school and inspiration strikes.

Despiste Jack's belief that he doen't like poetry and poetry isn't for boys, poems of famous male poets inspire him to attempt his own poem based on a tragic personal loss. Readers will relate to Jack's loss and his attempts to express his feelings through poetry.

Creech's choice to write about the topic in a free verse novel format adds a hightened sense of emotional intensity to the story. Jack's feelings were more poignantly expressed through the format of free verse rather than the novel format. The format of the verse novel allows readers to connect with their own emotions of tragedy and loss.

Recommended for grades 4-6.

Keywords: free verse novel, poetry, dogs, famous poets.