Love That Dog

Creech, S.  (2001).  Love that dog  New York:  HarperCollins.

Jack's class is learning about poetry and he is resistant at first because he is a boy and thinks he doesn't understand poetry.  In this free verse and diary entry format book, Jack starts sharing his poems with his teacher and then his class. At first he will share his poems only if they are anonymous, but he gains his confidence and becomes an accomplished poet. His love of poetry motivates him to write to poet, Walter Dean Myers and invite him to be a guest author at his school.

            I would introduce Love That Dog by introducing my students to my two dogs, Sherman a schnauzer and Miley a poodle.  Students will like to have a quick discussion about dogs.  Also, students interested or learning about poetry will want to read this book.  This would be a perfect book to share during April’s poetry month because it is simple and most children love dogs. Some students will be attracted because it is a quick read.  Other books written by Sharon Creech are Hate That Cat, Heartbeat, and The Castle Corona.   Hate That Cat continues the story of Jack and his continued poetry writing in Room 204.  Heartbeat is similarly written in free verse poetry with a story line that would appeal to many girls.  The Castle Corona is very different from the others because it is a protracted fairy tale.  

Lesson Plans:
http://www.sharoncreech.com/pdfs/LoveDogHateCat_TG.pdf