Jack’s assignment for Miss Stretchberry’s class, room 105, is to keep a poetry journal and use what he learns in class to write his own poems. What results is a one-way conversation in free-verse as Jack by turns makes fun of and grows to appreciate poetry and its connection to his own life, largely through the work of Walter Dean Myers. Out of this conversation, influenced by the works of Robert Frost and William Blake as well, comes the story of Jack’s dog Sky and how he died, and a letter to his favorite poet Walter Dean Myers that results in a live school visit from the author. Jack’s initial aversion to poetry in general is realistic, as is his eventual understanding of its relevance and ability to give words to the deepest of emotions. Dog lovers will be sure to choke up. The free-verse style also makes the 85-page book a quick read and great transition for those younger readers moving into chapter books.
For a thoroughly entertaining time, you can see a reader's theater production of Love That Dog performed by authors Sharon Creech, Avi, Sara Weeks, and Mr. Walter Dean Myers himself online here.
"Jack's gradual appreciation of poetry is both natural and believable, and the sentence parsing required by the book's format will be a refreshing aid to beginning chapter book readers, whose fluency is threatened by word-by-word reading. The format, generous with white space, allows the book to reach the often-required one hundred pages without containing large chunks of text.” - Horn Book
"Creech has created a poignant, funny picture of a child's encounter with the power of poetry. Readers may have a similar experience because all of the selections mentioned in the story are included at the end. This book is a tiny treasure.” - School Library Journal
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