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Told entirely through a boy�s journal entries, this story captures the reluctancy of a student who refuses to accept poetry, and a teacher�s perseverance and ultimately triumph in winning him over. The journal starts when the teachers has apparently asked the boy to write poetry and he flat out refuses. �I don�t want to/because boys/don�t write poetry./Girls do.� Most of the story is told between the lines, and readers must deduce what is happening behind the boy�s writing, or between entries. Readers witness the teacher�s gentle perseverance and encouragement throughout this fast-paced, difficult-to-put-down book. Easily read in one sitting, this book is sure to inspire teachers to motivate |
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their students in the art of poetry. The author provides several of the poems Miss Stretchberry, the teacher in the story, used in her lessons. This allows readers to see that the poems and authors mentioned in the story are in fact real, and provides a great reference to anyone that wishes to see how the main character was inspired by them. For example, the poem that changes this young boy�s way of thinking, �Love That Boy� by Walter Dean Myers says, �I said I love that boy/ like a rabbit loves to run...� and our narrator wrote, �I said I love that dog/ like a bird loves to fly...� It then becomes very clear to us just how much this poem inspired the main character. The best part of the book is the way the author never fails to have the main character behave the way a young boy would. The way he expresses himself is childlike and endearing. When he questions Robert Frost�s poem by saying, �Why doesn�t the person just/ keep going if he�s got/ so many miles to go/ before he sleeps?� This is just too ironic and comical�it is apparent that Robert Frost�s style of writing is not his favorite and he is not afraid to express this. �I think Mr. Robert Frost/ has a little/ too/ much/ time/ on his/ hands.� One simply cannot help but laugh at the candid honesty of this budding writer. When he discovers the author that really touches him, he is now so much in love with poetry, that he is not afraid to express his feelings, �That was the best best BEST/ poem/ you read yesterday/ by Mr. Walter Dean Myers/ the best best BEST/ poem/ ever.� Overall, the author maintains this endearing quality in the main character and readers easily picture a young boy whose love towards poetry is growing right before our eyes.
Publishers Weekly says, �Readers will love that dog, and this book� and School Library Journal tells us that, �Creech has created a poignant, funny picture of a child�s encounter with the power of poetry...this is a tiny treasure.� It is truly admirable how the author has managed to create a story of an inspiring teacher, a boy dealing with loss, and the awesome power of poetry and self-expression all in one tiny yellow book.
Creech, Sharon. 2001. Love That Dog. New York: HarperCollins Children�s Books.
ISBN 0-06-029287-3. |
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