Love That Dog

Love That Dog

By Sharon Creech

46 ratings 59 reviews 91 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 10 - 9T4.53935

The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, brings readers a story with enormous heart.

Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack's point of view, and with classic poetry included in the back matter, this novel is perfect for kids and teachers, too.

Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments—and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns that he does have something to say.

"I guess it does
look like a poem
when you see it
typed up
like that."

Publisher: by Sharon Creech
Published on 7/12/2009
Binding: Paperback

Book Reviews (59)

Add a Rating

I am look forward to read this.

McKeylaMcaliste McKeylaMcaliste

I really liked the book! it is interesting learning another's point of view about poetry. I ABSOLUTELY Love poetry, and it is my strength and talent.... Yet I still loved reading about Jack's resilience and perseverance to let the words out of his mind... :)

The book is really good but also kind of sad. It's really a great book and I recomend it for any readers who love dogs.

This is about a boy who writes in poems about a dog and the poems the teacher reads. How he wrote a poem to an author and the author comes to his school. Also, about how he once had a dog named Sky however, he was hit by a car. Here is a poem in that book. And I’d call him every morning every evening Hey there, Sky! Jack at first hates poems and thinks only girls write them but, because of an author is opinion does change about poems.

The bookmis really good but also kind of sad. It's really a great book and i recomend it for any readers who love dogs.

I read it because I LOVE dogs and want to be a veterinarian/farmer. It was happy in the beginning but as I was near the end it felt sad. I relate to this book because I have a dog. This kind of book is fiction. Love That Dog is about a boy named Jack who had a dog named Sky who passed away and then Jack was blue (sad). The main character was Jack who was the narrator in the story who also had the problem. The conflict that Jack had was that Sky passed away. He is understandable because he knows that Sky cannot stay alive forever. I enjoyed it because it has a dog.

Avi F. Avi F.

Do you like books? My book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is about a boy named Jack, and how he hates Poetry. SPOILER ALERT It is also about why he does not want to write a poem for his class, but when he writes to a person who inspires him, Mr. Walter Dean Myers, his perspective about poetry changes. I connected with this book because when I was young I heard about poetry and thought it was going to be so so boring, but when I did some poems of my own, I loved it. I liked this book because it can teach you something very valuable, and that is how you should try to be open to new things. Like one time in the book SPOILER ALERT Jack changed by writing poetry to a person he was inspired by, his name was Mr. Walter Dean Myers. Jack used to hate poetry but he wrote it anyway, and he started to like it a lot. I learned that you can't judge a book by its cover and it taught me that you can still do what you love when your dog has died in your family. I also liked this book because it really told me about what had happened to the characters and how they changed. I think that the character Jack changed by having a different perspective about Poetry by learning more about poetry. I think that the author included Jack to lead the story and to keep it going because he always changes and he makes discoveries. Like one time in the book SPOILER ALERT when Sky the dog died. If Jack was not in the story at that point, then it would not really be interesting because it was his dog, and if he was not there then there would not have been so much emotion and tell the reader that something was wrong. I think that the author wanted to get us thinking about why in the beginning of the book Jack hates poetry, but then he likes it because his dog had died and wrote to Mr. Walter Dean Myers. When Jack wrote to Mr. Walter Dean Myers, Jack totally changed his perspective because he was very inspired by the man he wrote to. I think that if the author did not have us thinking about what happens in the book it would not be interesting at all in our minds. I think that the author wanted to let the readers visualize the scene where Jack writes to Mr. Walter Dean Myers and feels different about poetry. An important scene in the book is about Sky’s death because it had a lot of emotion and love for the dog. Also, if his dog did not die then maybe Jack would not have started writing poetry. I think the author included this scene where Jack wrote about his dog because the author wanted to give us some clues and to go further into the book. I think the purpose of this book is to be open to different things in life, and to try your hardest to get through things that may seem hard. I think that the author gives the characters a lot of emotion and that emotion is sadness, because in this book Jack is writing about his dog that died. When Jack sees his dog getting hit by a car it gives the reader lot of emotion to think about. I think that the author wanted us to visualize sadness and how Jack is feeling about his dog dying. I recommend this book for people who have empathy for animals because this book has a lot of love for animals and things that some people like such as poetry.

This is the best. Book. Ever. (but sad)

Adriana Adriana

This book is the best you should read it

I remember my 3rd grade teacher Reading us this book. I remember really enjoying the beginning and I liked it a lot. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BEFORE DO NOT LISTEN TO WHAT I AM SAYING ANY FURTHER!!! What I don't get, is why all pet books have a sad ending. Not into sad ending dog books, don't read this one. Maybe it was just me as a 3rd grader, but I remember this being sad. Very heartfelt, and emotional!

Show More