Saint John Don Bosco:

"Never read books you aren't sure about . . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point of view. Let me ask you this: Would you drink something you knew was poisoned just because it was offered to you in a golden cup?"




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Sunday, November 7, 2010

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love
This
Book

I do. I found it a delightful, easy read that hit areas of interest and emotional high notes for me.

If you have a child who has any affinity for poetry, they likely will feel the same.

If you have a boy, a reluctant reader, a dog lover, or an avid reader, each might find something worthwhile here. It is a quick, short read but quite deep.

Sharon uses free-verse poetry, modern-style, and weaves a story through poems written by a young boy over a school year.

The poems reveal the angst of a boy convinced he can’t write poetry as he progresses to seeing that he can. It tells of his dislike of poetry as it unfolds to enthusiasm and discovery of the excitement of poems under a capable teacher. At the end of the year, his class even receives a visit from Walter Dean Myers (poet extraordinaire) thanks to a letter this boy writes.

At the same time… we see the heart-wrenching (well, it got to me!) story of the dog this boy adopted, loved, and lost via a car hitting him.

Bonus: (and maybe this is just the English teacher in me): the author lists the original poems at the end that were referenced in the book: Frost, Blake, William Carlos Williams, and a couple more recent poets that may be a new discovery for you: Worth, Rigg, Myers.

Enjoy.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

2 comments:

Anonymous,  November 8, 2010 at 12:09 PM  

Have you read any others by Sharon Creech? My library system has quite a few of her titles, but I'm not familiar with them. I will be checking out this book for sure!

Thanks again for all of your reviews!
Tabitha

Tween Lit Crit November 10, 2010 at 1:26 PM  

Hi Tabitha,
I did review 2 more of hers (that may be a record on this blog). I thought Castle Corona a reasonably good story, although the setting was medieval-like and the religious content remarkably anemic. But not hostile. I put Absolutely Normal Chaos in the DaVinci Pile...
(And you're quite welcome...)

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