Love That Dog

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Summary: hilarious
Review: great book for poets and teachers of all levels

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Summary: It's short, sweet, and can't be beat!
Review: This was a great book. It's written in the form of a poem. The kid in the book does not want to write poetry because boys don't do that. He is in a poetry class though and writes poems about his old dog he used to have named Sky. I finished it in one night and really wanted to write poetry.

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Summary: Yet Another Work of Art by Sharon Creech
Review: Sharon Creech's newest masterpiece, Love That Dog, is a delightful book for all ages. Amazingly enough, Creech has made 105 pages of clever story-telling come to life in a story that is sure to touch the heart of anyone who reads its wonderfully written contents. This is a story that will bring both tears to your eyes and a smile to your face as you read of life through the eyes of a young boy telling a story that can be truly appreciated when put on to paper.

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Summary: Love that book.
Review: I am totally in love with this book! I got it for Christmas, and read it in about 30 minutes that very day. It is not a hard read considering that every page comtains only about 15 words (it is written mostly in peom form). The storyline is young, but not too young to lose my attention. It is a little sad, but, hey, it's still a great book!

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Summary: I Can't Stop Smiling
Review: Love this book. I felt as if I were one with Jack as he blossomed with Miss Stretchberry's gentle urging into the world of poetry. Jack's sheer pleasure in his new-born appreciation of poems read to him by Miss Stretchberry passes right on to the reader. Thank you Sharon Creech. I recommend this feel-good book highly.

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Summary: Sharon Creech - Masterful!
Review: Sharon Creech is a master writer for children and adults. I couldn't believe that one novel could be written on so many levels! Simple, yet powerful! Don't miss reading this work!

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Summary: A Must Read, for Children and Others Who Love Poetry
Review: I fell hard for this book. I love poetry, I love my dogs, I love my kids, who, like Jack in this book, are developing a sensitivity to language. I'm also a huge fan of Karen Hesse's _Out of the Dust_, not only because it tells a meaningful, heartfelt story, but also because it's told in blank verse. If children are read and fall as hard as I did for _Love That Dog_, I and my fellow college and university English teachers will not have a problem once the kids make it to higher education. They'll already love poetry.

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Summary: I really liked this book.
Review: When I first looked at this book I thought it was not going to be a book that's fun but I was wrong. I really liked it and even want to read it again. Give it a try.

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Summary: Brilliant Approach
Review: This could be a great new way to approach many things that our kids see as only meant for specific genders. The "Act Like A Man" concept has us teaching our youngsters that certain things aren't masculine. We as adults know that literature is for everyone, and what a great way to express it. Through a fictional character that has learned the value of poetry.


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Summary: Beautifully Written and Inspirational.....
Review: As Jack tells us in his writing journal on the first day of his class' poetry unit: "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry./Girls do./I tried./Can't do it./Brain's empty." But as hard as he resists the idea, poetry begins to seep into that empty brain. At first the works his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, introduces make little sense to him. "Why doesn't the person just/keep going if he's got/so many miles to go/before he sleeps?" Eventually, the poetry seductively captures him, and he writes about William Blake's, The Tiger: "I am sorry to say/I did not really understand/the tiger tiger burning bright poem/but at least it sounded good/in my ears./Some of the tiger sounds/are still in my ears/like drums/beat-beat-beating." When Miss Stretchberry reads Walter Dean Myers', Love That Boy, it all comes together, and Jack is finally hooked, "I copied that BEST poem/and hung it on my/bedroom wall/right over my bed/where I can/see it when I'm/lying/down." As the story continues, he begins to open up, write his own verse, and with the guidance of his teacher and inspiration of his new favorite poet, finally puts down on paper the poem that's been inside of him all along just waiting to come out; the story of his beloved dog, Sky, who was hit by a car..... Newberry Award Winner, Sharon Creech, has outdone herself with this marvelously sensitive, sometimes poignant, often amusing little masterpiece. Her simple text, told in free verse, and written in the voice of a ten or eleven year old, explores the power of words, their rhythm, and energy, how they can inspire, captivate, and elicit feelings. Young and old, alike will be entranced as they begin this wonderful journey with Jack on his lifelong adventure with the love of words. Ms Creech has included the poems used by Miss Stretchberry at the end of the book, and this is a good starting point for young poetry lovers. Perfect for kids 9-12, Love That Dog is a treasure to be read and shared by everyone.