Love That Dog is a free verse piece written by Sharon Creech and published by HarperCollins. It is written in diary format, in the perspective of a young boy who resists poetry assignments from his teacher. The author drew inspiration from Walter Dean Myers' poem, Love That Boy. The book received good reviewsQuick Listens - washingtonpost.com and was a finalist for the 2001 Carnegie Medal as well as being commended at the 2002 Children's Book Awards. The book has also appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Book Overview
Plot Jack starts the school year insisting that "boys don't write poetry," but through the patient guidance of his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, he begins to express his grief over his lost dog, Sky. Love That Dog is composed of multiple short chapters – each chapter is listed as a diary entry. As the novel develops and Jack's confidence grows, so does his literary style. He progresses from short and defiant sentences to more sophisticated poetry. Jack writes many poems, and eventually stops being anonymous. Jack hints, but only directly tells at the end, that his dog named Sky got run over by a blue car splattered with mud speeding down the road.
Themes The story explores the power of self-expression, the process of healing from loss, and the inspiration found in classic poets like Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, and Walter Dean Myers .
Acclaim
Beyond being a New York Times Best Seller, it earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal for its poignant yet humorous portrayal of a child's emotional journey.
External links
New York Times review Profile on author's website