Love That Dog

mbpublishing.com

Title: Love That Dog
Author: Sharon Creech
Genre: Realistic fiction- novel in verse
Grade level(s) appropriateness: 3-7
A brief synopsis/review: Jake, the narrator and main character, complains about writing poetry and believes that only girls write it. His teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, continually assigns poetry activities to her class, so it's inevitable for Jake to avoid poetry. However, he comes to love writing poetry when he writes about his dog, Sky. 
Theme(s): Writing, school life, perseverance, inspiration
Noteworthy features or issues with text:
* Free-verse poems
* First person point-of-view
* Easy to read and understand
* Can be used for a quick read
* Builds confidence for those struggling to read and write poetry
* Diary format- written poetry develops throughout the story
* A collection of the student's poetry, shows transition throughout the school year
Teaching ideas: Jake writes poems that are shaped like the things they describe. Students could write a poem in the shape of what their poem is about. In the story, Jake admires Walter Dean Myers and writes a letter to him. Students could write a letter to their favorite author, telling the author why they love his/her work and what it means to them. Students could choose one of the poems that was written by a famous poet (featured at the end of the story) and research the poet's life and then give a presentation to the class. Students could also select their favorite poem and use that poem's form to write one of their own.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: This book could be connected to any subject area- write a poem on any topic. The poems included in the book could be used for instruction. Also, students could look back to the book (diary) for ideas when writing. 
Read aloud suitability: Yes, can be read aloud. However, students should see how the poetry is written on the pages.
Connections to other texts/content areas: Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech is a sequel to Love That Dog. Again, this book could be used in any content area.
Other additional comments: This book has won many awards such as ALA Notable Children's Book, IRA/CBC Children's Choice, New York Times Bestseller, and Carnegie Medal Finalist.

Check out Sharon Creech's "Teaching Poetry: Tips for Making Poetry Accessible and Fun for Students" teacher guide: http://sharoncreech.com/pdfs/SharonCreech_TG_DogCat.pdf