Genre: Poetry, Fiction
Author: Sharon Creech
Illustrator: None
Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Nominee
Age Range: 9-11 Years Old
Summary: Jack journals most days about what is going on in school and at home. He mainly talks about the poems the teacher reads in class. Some of the poems he does not like because he does not understand them. While other poems, he is really interested in such as the poems by Walter Dean Myers. He likes Mr. Myers poem so much that he decides to write one very similar to his about his dog, Sky. Jack writes many poems that his teacher puts up on the board, some he chooses to keep anonymous while others he asks the teacher to include his name on. Jack did not want the poem about Sky posted at all because he was worried that it was bad he used a lot of Myers words. One day Jack wrote a letter to Walter Dean Myers asking if he could come visit their school. It took about a month for a response, but Mr. Myers decided to come visit them as he was visiting a friend in the area. Jack was truly thrilled about this and enjoyed getting to hear Myer read his own poems to the class as well as read all the students poems that were posted on the board. Jack sent Myers a letter thanking him for his visit and included the poem that was Myers' poem inspired him to write.
Evaluation: I love how this book is written differently than most novels because it is in the format of a poem, but it is still telling one big story. It is a very easy read and I think most students would enjoy this book. which is why I would love to use it in my class. I think this book would be great for upper elementary grades, specifically, third through fifth grade. I think this book would be a great introductory tool into reading poetry. I would first teach the students some important concepts about poetry. Then, as a class we would read the book. When Jack mentions a poem that has been read in his class we would turn to the back of the book to find that poem and read it too. Depending on the grade, we may dissect that poem and look more into it. I would want to do this for most of the poems Jack mentions. When we finish the book, I would have students choose one of the poems we read and write their own poem. They could use that poem as inspiration by doing the same style or just if they want to utilize the topic of that poem.
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