Love That Dog - Teacher Review

 Love That Dog is possibly the sweetest and most touching book I have ever read.  Another triumph of Sharon Creech! I was first exposed to the book in college and instantly fell in love. 
 

Love That Dog is a beautiful story that reveals itself little by little through each entry that a young boy, Jack, composes in his writers’ workshop notebook. These notes, mostly responses to poems read in class and poetry that the boy, at first only reluctantly writes, are little windows into the world of a young child. Readers are left with only that small view, through which they must interpret the world. This makes the story seem deceptively simple at first. However, as you read, a secret slowly unfolds. 

 This book is about a boy, his dog, poetry and the transforming impact one teacher, who notices and cares, can have in the life of a student.

Instructional Usage:

This is the book I’ve used more than any other book for book groups and/or guided reading. I have also used it with the widest age ranges of students of any book.  The simple and universal theme of love, grief and healing will connect with almost all students.

The most powerful way to use this book is in conjunction with a poetry unit. Align the poetry you are exploring as a class with the types of poetry being discussed in the book. It is a great way to engage students with the poetry (especially those who might have a more difficult time connecting to it) and springboard to the writing and reading of other poems. The book also models how a writing response journal can be used effectively in a classroom for the teacher and the students.

Another very powerful way to use this book is to introduce the class to literature circles and model how they are done. The book is brief, readable to most students in the class,  still interesting to high level readers and promotes the high level questioning you want to promote with these groups. If students are new to literature circles, it is very helpful when the first circle is a whole group and teacher guided (with gradual release). This gives the entire class a good foundation in how to conduct literature circles effectively, modeling what the discussion should be like and clearly demonstrates expectations for the literature circles. Love That Dog would be the perfect book to do it with.

One of my favorite features of the book is an appendix at the end which contains the poems (some partial others complete) that the class in the book discussed. It is a treasure chest that will help students discover types of poetry and authors that speak to them. Just like most poetry, this book should, at least in part, be read aloud. Many of the poems have rhythm in rhymes that are begging to be heard. Since the book is short, kids can read it in groups. If you are doing literature circles and don’t have time for the students to read the book together, one assignment each meeting could be for the students to share there favorite entry from the section they read. I am reluctant to use this particular book as a read aloud; unless you can project the pages as you read, because it is a very visual experience. The concrete poems in particular will not translate if just presented orally.

Special Needs: I work with a lot of struggling readers. The pages have limited text, due to the text being presented in poems and short journal entries, students do not find it daunting to read.  The book is also complex, leaving much for the reader to figure out. It is rare to find such a high quality, readable book requiring such high level of comprehension. This is indeed a treasure, because most of my students with learning disabilities can comprehend far beyond the level of most books they are able to read. I’ve also used this book with students on the autism spectrum and with emotional/behavioral disorders as a platform for discussion and practice with perspective taking and empathy.

The book has a somewhat charming sequel called Hate That Cat. For me, it lacked the magic of the original. Last year, two fourth graders in my class bought it from a local book fair. Within 3 weeks, those two copies had been borrowed and read by most of the fourth grade class (including me). The kids who purchased copies liked so much that they kept lending them out to other kids. This might be the most important testament to how enjoyable these books can be.

Read it yourself! Read it with others! No matter how you use it, I promise you will “Love That Book.”