Creech, Sharon. 2001. Love that dog. New York: Joanna Colter Books.

recommended for: grades upper 3rd through 6

A very normal and poetry-resistant boy finds, through the course of a school year, that he does indeed have something to say and a way to express himself in poetry. Through journal-like entries, each of which are a form of the expressive genre of poetry, reveal to the read the metacognitive growth of Jack who not only develops his author's voice but also revisits, and heals from, a trauma in his past.

The only illustration for the book is on the front cover: the spare sketch of a dog drawn by William Steig. But unexpectedly, the text inside the volume is strongly visual with the formatting and white space that signify works of poetry. Creech presents a skillful melding of message and design that let us see Jack's growth as a poet and as a child who comes to understand himself. The give-and-take of a student's honest journal entries and the teacher's responses requiring the boy to extend himself (the teacher's name is Ms. Stretchberry) create a wonderful plotline, in the midst of the verse novel, that engages the reader and leads to a delightful ending.

I look forward to using this with my upper level boys who might share Jack's view of poetry: "only girls do that." Ths is an engaging book that will strike a chord in many readers (and one of the few that I have read in one sitting).

Key words: dogs, boys, poetry, writing