Review of "Love That Dog"

Love That Dog is an unusual and charming book for children by Sharon Creech it is a collection of poems.  In a sense they are fictional poems, because they are written from the point of view of Jack, a young boy.  Jack writes poems for his teacher, after she has shown him poems by more famous poets.  They include The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams, The Tiger by William Blake, dog by Valerie Worth, Love That Boy by Walter Dean Myers.  Through the progression of Jacks poems, we see him move from skepticism to enthusiasm about poetry, and he starts to express his feelings.  Gradually, Jack writes more about his old dog, Sky, who was killed when he was hit by a car.  So, this is a story about the healing power of poetry for children dealing with grief.  Recommended. 

 

© 2003 Christian Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island, and editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.