LOVE THAT DOG

I was skeptical at first about this book because when I started reading it, I thought these are not your typical or standard poems. Reading this book seemed as though it might be difficult because I have always believed poems should rhyme.  Poems are suppose to rhyme!  Jack seems to be unsure about how poetry should sound or written too.  However, he writes about his life and how he gets his yellow dog from the pound. Jack and his father saved Sky from the pound only for him to get hit by a blue, muddy car! The writing is true to life.  I know children need to write about all the horrible and wonderful happenings in their lives. Many students will struggle with writing poems because some of them have the misconception, like I did, that they should rhyme.  Making sure that students have the availability of reading poetry by many different authors will show them they can write about their life, focusing on exactly what is important to them.   This book was a fast read for me because I was curious to what Jack would write next.  Robert Frost is my favorite poet and the mention of his poem, ‘Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening’ in his poetry was a surprise for me. Jack paid attention to the teacher when she read the different poems in the class, so he must have been interested.  The statement Jack said about Frost having too much time on his hands was adorable. Miss Stretchberry should be in every classroom because in this book, she reads a variety of poems that both rhyme and do not rhyme. I really like what Jack writes on September 27.

I don’t understand

the poem about

the red wheelbarrow

and the white chickens

and why so much

depends upon

them.

If that is a poem

about the red wheelbarrow

and the white chickens

then any words

can be a poem.

You’ve just got to

make

short

lines.

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