Love That Dog
by Sharon Creech
After thoroughly enjoying my daughter's previous recommendation of Things Not Seen, I told her that I would read any book that she enjoyed more than that one. It didn't take her long to put Love That Dog into my hands. Even though I'm not especially fond of dogs, this touching story about a pre-teen boy who learns to express his feelings through poetry moved me.
Part epistolary novel and part free verse, Love That Dog is a gem of a story that serves as a great introduction for young children to poets, poetry, and writing their own verse. Featuring such notable poets as Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and William Blake, we are given a glimpse into young Jack's writing notebook as he reads these works and responds to them as part of Miss Stretchberry's composition class. Along the way Jack grows more confident in his writing abilities and finds his own voice as a writer and a human being.
Even though the novel is over 100 pages, I was able to read it in less than an hour because of all the white space on each page. In the back are excerpts from all the poems Jack reads in the course of the story. The narrative is laid out as a poem, and moves quickly.
Sharon Creech transcends the "children's fiction" genre and creates something that will speak to anyone who has wondered what poetry is for, and how writing can give voice to our deepest feelings.
Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Joanna Cotler (July 24, 2001)
ISBN-10: 0060292873
Things Not Seen
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21.3.10
Things Not Seen
by Andrew Clements
I've read to my daughter for years, and as she's gotten older I've also recommended childhood favorites I thought she'd enjoy. So it marked a major milestone and delightful turnaround recently when my 10 year old excitedly pressed Things Not Seen into my hands, urging me to read it so we could discuss it.
A fast, easy read weighing in at around 250 pages, Things Not Seen was a page-turner, offering enough action and suspense to keep both children and adult readers engaged in the story. The story of a teenager named Bobby who wakes up invisible one morning, the book combines elements of science fiction, teen novels, and romance successfully in order to appeal to a wide audience.
While not a great work of literature by any means, Things Not Seen also manages to ask important questions about people that might be "invisible" to the typical teenager. Special needs children, the unpopular, the un-beautiful --Bobby's invisibility serves as the metaphor through which some of these other issues can be brought to light.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and discussing it with my daughter.
Publisher: Penguin Group USA (March 1, 2002)
250 pages
ASIN: B001IAW55Y
by Andrew Clements
I've read to my daughter for years, and as she's gotten older I've also recommended childhood favorites I thought she'd enjoy. So it marked a major milestone and delightful turnaround recently when my 10 year old excitedly pressed Things Not Seen into my hands, urging me to read it so we could discuss it.
A fast, easy read weighing in at around 250 pages, Things Not Seen was a page-turner, offering enough action and suspense to keep both children and adult readers engaged in the story. The story of a teenager named Bobby who wakes up invisible one morning, the book combines elements of science fiction, teen novels, and romance successfully in order to appeal to a wide audience.
While not a great work of literature by any means, Things Not Seen also manages to ask important questions about people that might be "invisible" to the typical teenager. Special needs children, the unpopular, the un-beautiful --Bobby's invisibility serves as the metaphor through which some of these other issues can be brought to light.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and discussing it with my daughter.
Publisher: Penguin Group USA (March 1, 2002)
250 pages
ASIN: B001IAW55Y
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