Love That Dog

Love That Dog

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97  ·  rating details  ·  15,909 ratings  ·  1,909 reviews
The Barnes & Noble Review

Newbery Medal-winning author Sharon Creech tells a moving, amusing, and heartwarming tale in Love That Dog, a story written in freewheeling prose disguised as poetry. And poetry is something that young Jack can't stand -- it's confusing and odd and strictly for girls. But he can't seem to escape it, since his teacher insists on giving out assig...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published February 18th 2003 by HarperCollins (first published July 24th 2001)

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Community Reviews

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Kim
I don’t want to

Because boys

Don’t write poetry.

Girls do.




First page, first poem.
Makes me smile
But also makes me kinda
Sad.
Do words in poem form
Make you sad?
I hope not
but I
Understand,
if it does.

Love That Dog takes less than 3 minutes to read. Okay, maybe a bit more if you’re on your 4th glass of Sangria (but who’s counting) and you linger on phrases. Phrases like:

‘and jumping on me
his shaggy straggly paws
on my chest
like he was trying
to hug the inside
right out of me’


Poems, PO-EMS. They...more
Ms. Gutner
1.) I liked this book because I felt that I was really able to connect with the main character, Jack. I am similar to Jack because I also didn’t want to write poetry and it took me time to be able to enjoy writing it. Just like Jack, I thought that “I couldn’t do it” (2). I also didn’t enjoy poetry at first because I didn’t understand it, just like Jack (3).

2.) You would like this book if you like dogs, especially If you really enjoy reading books and watching movies about dogs. If you have rea...more
Lacey
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech was such an adorable book. It was about a boy named Jack who did not want to or believe that he could write poetry. As the book continues Jack starts to write short little poems that he does not want anyone to know are his. Finally, he gets more comfortable writing poems and lets his teacher hang them up with his name on them to share with the class. Jack also gets to meet his inspiration Mr. Walter Dean Myers.
Sharon Creech did a good job of matching the sounds of...more
(NS) Mary
Non-Print Book on CD- Audiobook
I enjoyed this book on CD, but surprisingly enough, I much preferred reading the book myself. The CD is read by the actor Scott Wolf, known to some as "Bailey" from the TV show "Party of Five". I think that his voice totally threw me off, because I kept visualizing his dimples as he tried to be Jack, the main character in the book. I was bothered by it. Because people had told me how much they loved this book, I read the book following the listening of it. The book...more
Joanna
I love love love this book! It was my favorite by Sharon Creech until she published Heartbeat , and now I can't say which I like more. It is written entirely in free verse written in the school notebook of a boy who is a reluctant poetry pupil. The poetic form, believability of Jack (the main character), and the story he ultimately tells are simply smashing. This book would also be a great way to introduce young people to poetry; Jack's responses to a few well-known poems are written in his note...more
(B) Archer at KIPP
Mar 12, 2008 (B) Archer at KIPP rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone
Recommended to (B) Archer by: Daniel Barrientos
Shelves: boys-have-read
The book I was reading was Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. Some times I feel like writing is only for girls and that if I make some poem or writing assignment I had to put anonymous in the authors name because they might not be too good or people might make fun of me because I’m writing, and that’s one of the reasons why I like this book because it shows you that writing is not for girls only.
This book is about this guy that is writing poetry all the time and he thinks poetry is for girls only....more
Eliece
One of my all time favorites -- the SWEETEST little story written in journal format as a little boy learns to love poetry with the help of his teacher. It is cleverly written and fun to read. A good read-a-loud with your kids. warning -- you might cry!
Sol
final assessment, we had an Open Mic presentation every class. This is where a student would read a meaningful poem to the class. This had a considerable relation to the book Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. This book was about a boy, named Jack, that had to write poetry and he had difficulties at first. As Jack and my class went along we learned so much about poetry.
Carol
Nov 27, 2008 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Carol by: Amy
Shelves: poetry, juvenile
This is funny and poignant! In first person verse, young Jack as he learns to write and appreciate poetry!
Becky

I can't believe I never knew about this little book. It is so very, very good. It's a book in verse--a verse novel. The narrator, Jack, is in English class. His teacher, Miss Stretchberry, requires them to write. This *appears* to be a journal-assignment. But I could be wrong there, but these poetic entries are written by Jack and read regularly by his teacher...so draw your own conclusions. Jack is your typical boy--he doesn't like reading poetry, analyzing poetry, or writing poetry. In that wa...more
Brianna Bizzaro
Name: Brianna Bizzaro
APA citation: Creech, S. (2001). Love that dog. New York, NY: HarperTrophy.
Genre: Poetry
Award: Zilveren Griffel (2007), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2004), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2003), New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award for Young Adult (2004)
Format: audio
Selection process: Public Library suggested reading list

Jack doesn’t like poetry. He doesn’t care to read it and he doesn’t care to write it. But, after he teacher keeps on as...more
Maris Digiovanni
This book is wonderful! It’s in the form of a chapter book but has continuous poems that tell a story of a young boy who is learning about poetry in his classroom. The story is told through the mind of the young boy by his diary of poems. It not only helps teachers see how to respond to different students in the classroom and how to help them become more excited about poetry, but it also tells the heartwarming story about the young boy and his yellow dog that passed away in a car accident. The b...more
Vrinda
Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech fits the mold for contemporary realistic fiction. This book falls under the format of ‘Novels in Verse,’ and is appropriate for intermediate level children. It is an emotionally moving, and evolving story of a young boy’s immediate opposition, but gradual acceptance and appreciation for poetry, which ultimately gets him to express himself and come to terms with the loss of his beloved dog, Sky.

There are many themes present within this book. One predominant theme...more
Julia
This book is wonderful! It’s in the form of a chapter book but has continuous poems that tell a story of a young boy who is learning about poetry in his classroom. The story is told through the mind of the young boy by his diary of poems. It not only helps teachers see how to respond to different students in the classroom and how to help them become more excited about poetry, but it also tells the heartwarming story about the young boy and his yellow dog that passed away in a car accident. The b...more
Chelsea
Book in verse :


Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Print. 86 p.

In diary form to his teacher, Jack writes his progress and feelings towards poetry. He is discovering that perhaps poems are not just “for girls” as he originally believes. Readers are able to see Jack's progress as he begins writing poetry, as well as hear his reactions to poetry read in class as well as other happenings in his life, such as adopting a dog. Love That Dog is a writer's journal which young re...more
Victoria
Sharon Creech is one of my favorite elementary school authors because of the way that she is able to create a story that relates to all types of readers. Love That Dog was no exception.

Creech made it very easy for readers (even adult readers like myself) to relate to Jack. Even though the poems Jack writes are simple, his ideas are complex and really show how children can struggle with certain topics. Through the poetry format Creech chose, we see Jack develop his understanding of topics and as...more
Liz
Week 13

"Boys don't write poetry. Girls do." Jack tells his story through a series of writing assignments assigned by his teacher. At first Jack is very apprehensive, he doesn't know how to write poetry or he simply can't find a topic; his brain is empty. Little-by-little, assignment-by-assignment, Jack warms up to poetry and even gives his teacher permission to publish some of his works on the class bulletin board. Moving from one topic to the next, Jack focuses on his pet Sky and his favorite p...more
Bibliophile
Nov 28, 2012 Bibliophile rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who is still in middle school, people who want to show their kids a new perspective
OH HELLO CHILDHOOD. HAVE YOU COME TO VISIT?

Sharon Creech... when I was in, say, 5th and 6th grade, I had a few favorite authors. Andrew Clemens, Road Dahl, Madeleine L'engle, Louis Sachar... and then her.

I originally read Walk Two Moons, and after falling in love with that book, I promptly headed over to the library and started to devour her other books. There's another book that sticks out in my mind--I think it was called Heartbeat--but this sticks out particularly because it was one of the f...more
Taylor Adams
Main Characters: Jack, his teacher Ms. Stretchberry

Settings: Classroom, Neighborhood

P.O.V: First Person

Summary: This story is written by Jack the main character in his journal. He discusses his life experiences in the classroom of Ms. Stretchberry. His teacher forced him to write poetry but Jack believed that boys cannot do that only girls can. After constant effort from his teacher, Jack begins to see that he is a natural and that he can too write poetry if he tries. He is not comfortable writi...more
Courtney

Genre: Poetry
Summary: A novel about a young boy learning to appreciate poetry. With his teacher’s help and a new role model, he learns how to create his own poetry through personal experiences. To start, he thought only girls wrote poetry but in the end, he finds a true connection to poetry.

Critique:
a. Area for comment: The subject matter and how it affects the readability for children.
b. The lightheartedness of this novel creates humor while opening up about a sad situation. The subject matter...more
Cecilia
Summary

Sharon Creech is the author of a story about a boy, Jack, who is in the classroom of Ms. Stretchberry. Ms. Stretchberry has her students write poetry individually. At first, Jack is embarrassed to write poetry because he believes only girls write poetry. Jack writes about other poems he reads in class which gives him an inspiration to write his own poem about a blue car. Ms. Stretchberry put his poem on the board but Jack told her not to put his name on it. He never told why the blue car...more
Jessica
This book warms my heart and is a personal childhood favorite. It tells a touching story about a young boy named Jack who replies to his teacher Miss. Stretchberry, over the course of the year through writing. The teacher encourages Jack to write but he insists that he can't or he simply won't. However, this inspiring teacher interests the boy into writing, and he discovers that he has a lot to say and many ways he can express himself. Throughout the year he tries to express his thoughts about h...more
Erin Mccall
This short book written in verse reminded me a lot of Jacqueline Woodson’s Locomotion, where a young boy’s exploration and experimentation with poetry helps the rest of the class see the importance of poetry and understand it as well. Much like Locomotion’s Lonnie, our unnamed narrator is skeptical of poetry; he finds the poems his class looks at to not tell a full story, or just be dubbed poems because there are line breakdowns. Eventually he realizes with the help of Mrs. Stretchberry putting...more
Megan Jones
I started reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech and it took me all of maybe 5 minutes to get through the "novel". My initial thoughts while reading the first couple pages was, "What is the heck is going on." I was confused and didn't know how it was going to play out and fit together. The book is a compilation of poems that a student named Jack wrote in reply to his teacher during their classroom poetry unit. As the book progresses, Jack's own poems progress. In addition, his love for poetry gr...more
Meredith Trotter
Publication: 2001

Grade/Age: Ages 9-14

Annotation: A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

Themes: Poetry, personal growth, school life, coping with a loss

Ways to use the book:

In this book, Jack's March 14th apology to Miss Stretchberry takes an unusual form. Have students think about a time when they did something wrong, and write an apology (or excuse?) as a poetic le...more
My Sister's Bookshelf
Reviewed by our sister-in-law here! http://mysistersbookshelf.com/sil-rev...


Review: At first look (inside the cover) my hopes were beginning to be lowered.
Creech’s novels are typically stories of girls coming of age in unusual circumstances.
it is that endearing period of life and her character and plot development brining me
back and back to her novels. I still love Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird as
much today as when I was fourteen. But Love That Dog is different. Jack (the author/
poet) strug...more
Aisse Tounkara
Jun 20, 2012 Aisse Tounkara rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All Friends
1. I loved this book because I guess i am similar to jack. I love to meet new people. Also I hate poetry. But now all of a sudden i do love poetry now. Maybe I was similar to jack in many ways#56-61.


2. I think my friends will like this book because they like meeting people like friends and just like me. Also I hate to say this but jack is a worrier and worries if Mr. Walter Dean Myers will come to their school. Jack is a bragger when he says that our school is clean and have a lot of nice kids a...more
Emily H.
Type of book: poetry/free verse
Intendend audience: middle school boys

In this book a boy is reading a poem by Walter Dean Myers and gets inspired to write his own poem about his dog. I really like watching the inspiration process. He guides us through what it is like to listen and listen and then suddenly be struck by inspiration that is all consuming, in this case, a Walter Dean Myers poem, Love That Boy, which is listed, along with the other poems, in the back of the book. My favorite part is t...more
Ryne
[Warning: Extremely mild spoilers ahead, with a dash of enthusiasm.]

I loved this book! I'd probably give it a 4.5-star rating, to be completely accurate; it's not perfect, but it was certainly great. It was an incredibly quick read (I breezed through the thing in around an hour) but it was a really wonderful read. It's very simple--it's told from the perspective of a boy somewhere between middle school and high school, probably middle school, and the book is his poetry journal for an English cla...more
Adam
Jack, who is the main character of this book has this belief that males should not write poetry. He starts off slow and is hesitant, but gradually he loosens up and the poetry starts to appear on his paper. His inspiration comes from his favorite poet and Jack starts to write about his dog that he used to have. This book is written and free verse and uses repition to get the point across. This book is a good example to use for children because they may relate when it comes to not being able to w...more
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Class of 2014: Book Review 3 4 Mar 27, 2013 09:00pm  
Poetry? 4 13 Feb 28, 2013 08:00am  
Seeing Jack 6 14 Jun 02, 2012 07:15pm  
For dog lover's only 20 57 Jun 02, 2012 07:12pm  
Love That Dog (Hardcover)
Love That Dog (Paperback)
Love That Dog
Love That Dog (Hardcover)
Love That Dog (Hardcover)

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I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of...more
More about Sharon Creech...
Walk Two Moons Ruby Holler Chasing Redbird Heartbeat Bloomability

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“Sometimes
when you are trying
not to think about something
it keeps popping back in your head
you can't help it
you think about it
and
think about it
and
think about it
until your brain
feels like
a squashed pea.”
43 people liked it
“I tried.
Can't do it.
Brain's empty.”
32 people liked it
More quotes…