Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog. (2001) Read by Scott Wolf. HarperCollins Publishers, New York. ISBN-10: 0-06-085278-X ISBN-13: 978-0-06-085278-8
Poetry! What boy enjoys writing poetry? Love That Dog is about a boy and his dog who, through some careful coaching from Miss Stretchberry, his teacher, finds out that through words he does have something to say. Sharon Creech’s novel of free-verse-poetry is a wonderful introduction to this look into a boy’s changing journey of himself.
I chose to listen to this book on CD performed by Scott Wolf who is also an actor. Wolf’s boyish voice truly captured Jack in this novel. His portrayal of Jack’s character allowed the book to come alive. You were able to sense Jack’s insecurities in his beginning attempts of poetry writing. This book was written in journal format which is great for students today, since journaling is really encouraged. This gives the student, whether listening to the novel on CD or reading the book, the opportunity to experience the journal format. Using free verse avoids the use of regular meter and is less ridged than typical rhyming poetry, but allows for the use of varied line length and no rhyme pattern. This allows the reader to see the difference in verse poetry, compared to the more traditional rhyming poems. Students will love listening to this book, but I recommend that they also read the novel. Sharon Creech also makes the book come alive by having the word small written really small and the word large written larger in the text for an example. My Yellow Dog by Jack on page 37 is in the shape of a dog with the words making the dog shape. There is also added sniffsniffsniff of the dogs nose. This is a wonderful depiction of how students can be creative while having fun with their writing. The added poems by William Carlos Williams, William Blake, Valerie Worth, Jack Frost, Arnold Adoff, S. G. Rigg and Walter Dean Myers give the reader a variety of poets to enjoy. Walter Dean Myers’ poem “Love That Boy” inspires Jack to write his poem “Love That Dog” about his dog that was hit by a car. This poem inspires Jack to write to the poet asking him to come to their school. The questioning that Jack does throughout the book should encourage children to realize that it is okay to question, which leads to understanding and confidence. Great book for teaching free verse poetry and inspiring children to understand it is okay to write about experiences whether they are sad, funny, scary, etc. and that asking questions is the way to find out answers. The story ends with Walter Dean Myers coming to Jacks school. I loved this book!
Love That Dog
Love that dog,
Like a bird loves to fly
I said I love that dog
Like a bird loves to fly
Love to call him in the morning
Love to call him
“Hey there, Sky!”
(Creech, pg. 86)
I enjoyed listening to this book on CD. I would like to have a class set of Love That Dog and have the students follow along as Scott Wolf performs this story. Before listening, I will go over the differences of rhyming and verse poetry. After they have listened to the book, while following along in their books, which will take a couple of days, we can then discuss the book and verse poetry. I would then ask them to think about something that has happened in their lives - good, bad, funny - and write a verse poem about their experience. They can chose to make it a shape poem, put it on colored paper, whatever, and then post them in the room. I would also like for them to choose a poet who is their favorite and write a letter to them. This will be a good extension activity that can incorporate research of the poet and journaling. The students will present their letters if they receive an answer, or present the research of the poet even if they don’t receive a response. This will also allow them to journal in their poetry journals. I like that this will be an ongoing activity that the students can work on independently as we move on to other areas of study.
If you enjoyed Love That Dog, then don’t miss Sharon Creech’s verse novel, Hate That Cat.
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