Love that Dog and Hate That Cat

Every Fourth Quarter of the school year, I teach poetry.  I find that students, especially 8th graders, have a difficult time focusing on lengthy assignments.  The kids enjoy poetry because most forms we study are "short" and "easy".

As part of my unit, I like to introduce students to various poets and forms of poetry.  Sharon Creech's books, Love that Dog and Hate that Cat provide a unique way to introduce poets such as Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams and T.S. Elliot. 

The novel Love that Dog, written in the form of poems, introduce us to Jack.  Jack is a reluctant poet.  He believes only girls write poetry.  As we read his journal, we learn that Jack has a dog he loves.  As we learn more about Jack and his dog, Jack finds his voice and his inner-poet.

In the follow up novel Hate that Cat, Jack finds himself in Miss Strechberry's classroom for a second year -- she has looped with her class.  This year Jack explores metaphors, similes and onomatopoeia and the concept of silence.

Each of these books is a quick, quick read.  But, despite that fact, there is so much gained in so little time.  I cannot wait to use each of these as an introduction to William Carlos Williams, shape poetry and more!