60 pages • 2 hours read
Sharon CreechLove That Dog
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Sky
Sky, Jack’s yellow dog, is the most prominent motif in the story—supporting the theme that the purpose of poetry is to explore the human experience. Jack only reveals details about his dog’s life and fate as he grows more comfortable with vulnerability. In the beginning, Jack guards his heart from addressing the difficult feelings wrapped up in Sky’s death. Jack doesn’t know what to do with his sadness, so he bottles it up for as long as he can. When Miss Stretchberry suggests that Jack write about a pet, he responds, “I don’t have any pets / so I can’t write about one / and especially / I can’t write / a POEM / about one” (12). Jack doesn’t reveal much about Sky until he reads poems that stir his memory. After reading Valerie Worth’s “dog,” he describes the ways his own pet was similar to Worth’s. The poets he reads inspire him to write, the most genuine topic on his mind being his dog.
Once Jack opens his mind to poetry, it provides him a creative outlet to process his grief and honor Sky’s memory. Writing about Sky gives Jack space to explore difficult emotions at his own pace; it helps him to accept what happened. Jack writes about Sky in such a way that the dog not only lives on in his memory but is also preserved and celebrated in that of the reader. Jack’s poem “My Sky” recalls former grief and happiness alike. Jack remembers choosing Sky at the animal shelter among many others, recalling how his yellow dog seemed to cry, “Me me me! Choose me!” and “Thank you thank you thank you!” (27). Jack writes poems about Sky’s most endearing features—such as his loose skin—and creates a concrete poem admiring every inch of his appearance. Most importantly, Jack writes about their relationship, recounting how Sky would play in the street with him and the neighborhood kids and how he would call him by saying, “Hey there, Sky!” (48). Sky’s death impacts readers because of these earlier glimpses at his personality and positive influence in Jack’s life. The dog outlines Jack’s journey to becoming vulnerable for art’s sake and sharing his knowledge of life’s joys and difficulties with an audience.
Poetry
Miss Stretchberry introduces numerous types of poems to show Jack—and by extension, the reader—what makes poetry. Poetry’s particular strength lies in its range of conventions. While some poetic forms can be rigid in rhyme and meter, poets can choose which ones suit their ideas best. Miss Stretchberry introduces an accessible writing style in free verse. Using free verse, Jack can focus on his poems’ content rather than fussing over prescribed structures. But, Jack doesn’t overlook structure entirely; he pays close attention to word length, order, and direction when creating his concrete poem. Free verse poetry suits young students as it offers them more freedom to experiment with language in expressing ideas and telling stories.
After reading a few poems, Jack realizes that poetry largely involves “making pictures with words” (23). Though prose can also achieve this, poetry dedicates itself to imagery and sensory details that highlight the reading experience. Poets create art with language, similar to how painters make visual art with brushes or musicians use instruments. Art serves to tell compelling stories and share human experiences. Jack continues in this tradition, learning to utilize his voice based on those of other poets and his own progression as a writer.
Yellow Paper
When Jack finally allows Miss Stretchberry to post his poems on the class board, she takes extra care to type them on nice paper. She takes the writing process—brainstorming, drafting, revising, proofreading—and the final step of publishing seriously. She believes in publication as it helps students feel like their hard work means something. The students can take pride in their poems knowing they look professional and worthy of an audience.
The nice paper, yellow like Sky, is a motif that represents Jack’s growing authorial voice, particularly as it relates to publishing and sharing his work. The color yellow appears in a few different images—including Sky’s fur and the caution signs at each end of Jack’s neighborhood. Though the color may kindle difficult memories, Jack responds favorably to the nice yellow paper that Miss Stretchberry uses for publication. The yellow paper appears in conjunction with publication, following Jack as he accepts more ownership of his ideas and name.
Jack takes ownership of how he wants his typed poems presented. This process begins with Jack suggesting structural edits such as more spacing between lines and paper color. He doesn’t allow Miss Stretchberry to publish his name until later in the school year, this moment marking a significant milestone in his confidence. Before the year’s end, Jack asks Miss Stretchberry if she can teach him to type his own work. In doing so, Jack no longer needs his teacher or anyone else to assist in this step. By the end of the school year, Jack’s newfound confidence allows him to take greater pride in his work and feel like his writing truly conveys his voice.
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By Sharon Creech
