Sharon Creech's Love That Dog

Love That Dog is a phenomenon free verse piece written by Sharon Creech that talks about a young boy named Jack’s inspiring journey with poetry. Jack finds poetry difficult and irrelevant to his life; however, as he progresses the school year, his poetical journal responses to his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, significantly improve. Jack begins to share sensitive and moving topics through his poetry. Poetry becomes inspirational to him to an extent that will astound the reader and keep them on their feet. This book is best suited for students ages 8 - 12. The book falls under the genre of poetry (realistic fiction and tragedy). The genre provides condensed, evocative language, causing the reader to interpret beyond literary meaning. Instead of analyzing this book from a simplistic point of view, one can delve more in depth based on its genre. The concepts discussed in this book are universal and applies to humanity at large. The most important theme covered in this book is growth mindset. As Jack’s journey deepens, readers, observe multiple ways in which he experiences growth mindset. The theme

For instance the description that the brain was, “pop-pop-popping “portrays the sensation that the brain is plastic; hence, it can be expanded through knowledge and perseverance. Also, the author cleverly uses the phrase, “I never knew a poet person” to emphasize lack of knowledge leads to false perceptions of reality. Jack uses the absolute word “Never” to describe his feeling. If one never thinks about the endless possibilities of success, then they will become their own culprit. The articulate, yet simple language of the author adds rich content to the story making it more relatable to all age groups. The novel instills the value of hope in readers. It encourages readers not to fear the unknown. Indeed with a growth mindset, one can beat the odds and live a meaningful