Love That Dog

“I don’t understand

the poem about

the red wheelbarrow

and the white chickens

and why so much

depends upon

them.”

Miss Stretchberry uses poems such as William Carlos Williams’s “The Red Wheelbarrow” as mentor texts. These texts provide acclaimed writing examples that students can study and imitate. As students read more poetry, they acclimate to different styles and accumulate resources with which to create their own work—even if the process is confusing at first.

“What do you mean—

Why does so much depend

upon

a blue car?

You didn’t say before

that I had to tell why.

The wheelbarrow guy

didn’t tell why.”

Miss Stretchberry pushes Jack to consider diction and think critically about his writing. Williams doesn’t explain why the red wheelbarrow matters, but his poem still makes an impact; readers can form their own interpretations based on the brief imagery and setting given. Jack doesn’t reveal the blue car’s significance until the climax, but it’s clearly a sensitive topic.

“I don’t want to

write about that blue car

that had miles to go

before it slept,

so many miles to go

in such a hurry.”

Jack imitates mentor texts in many journal entries, like he does here with Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”—albeit with a few simple substitutions. Jack associates Frost’s diction with his own blue car; this entry begins with his own thoughts before lapsing into borrowed lines when he mentions the blue car again. In the final line, Jack even infuses his own voice—plain and colloquial—with Frost’s famous lines.

“(But still don’t tell anyone

who wrote them, okay?)

(And what does anonymous mean?

Is it good?)”

Jack punctuates these lines with parentheses to show that he’s speaking to Miss Stretchberry in confidence—which subsequently implies that these are thoughts about which he is sensitive. Jack is protective of the poetry that he shares. The second stanza reveals that he doesn’t want to look ignorant, so he asks what a particular word means and whether it’s a good thing.

“It’s not a poem.

Is it?

I guess you can

put it on the board

if you want to

but don’t put

my name

on it

in case

other people

think

it’s not a poem.”

Jack questions what makes a poem a true poem. He also betrays his self-conscious side when implying that he cares about his peers’ opinions of his work. Yet, he’s also curious about said opinions upon receiving his teacher’s positive feedback.

“And I liked the picture

of the yellow dog

you put beside it.

But that’s not how

my yellow dog

looked.”

Jack is extremely protective of Sky’s memory. As the story progresses, Jack commits more energy to fashioning an accurate and honorable tribute to his dog—a sentiment that fuels much of his poetry.

And you said that

Mr. Robert Frost

who wrote

about the pasture

was also the one

who wrote about

those snowy woods

and the miles to go

before he sleeps

well!

I think Mr. Robert Frost

has a little

too

much

time

on his

hands.”

Jack voices a thought that many poetry students have: Poets dedicate their entire careers writing (often) confusing poetry, and some may wonder what the point is. The story delves into this, but every student must wrestle with this question before arriving at a meaningful answer. Jack’s distinctly boyish humor permeates the second stanza to lighten the mood while still inviting readers to consider his accusation’s implications.

“Maybe the wheelbarrow poet

was just

making a picture

with words

and

someone else—

like maybe his teacher—

typed it up

and then people thought

it was a poem

because

it looked like one

typed up like that.

And maybe

that’s the same thing

that happened with

Mr. Robert Frost.

Maybe he was just

making pictures with words

about the snowy woods

and the pasture—

and his teacher

typed them up

and they looked like poems

so people thought

they were poems.”

Jack understands the world based on his own experiences, his first-person point of view inviting readers to get to know him. Even if readers disagree with Jack’s assessment, they can understand his feelings toward publication in relation to other poets. The burgeoning poet grows confident in his ability to incorporate new elements in his work—and that his work is of value.

“And that’s where we saw

the yellow dog

standing against the cage

with his paws curled

around the wire

and his long red tongue

hanging out

and his big black eyes

looking a little sad

and his long tail

wag-wag-wagging

as if he were saying

Me me me! Choose me!

And we did.

We chose him.”

Jack narrates the day he took Sky home like a fairy tale, as though destiny prompted him to choose the yellow dog. He ends this stanza on a distinctly happily-ever-after note despite the story’s true ending being tragic. As Jack allows himself to remember and write about Sky, he recalls good memories alongside sad ones.

“And the other dogs

in the cages

get killed dead

if nobody chooses them.”

This stanza immediately follows Jack’s fairy tale-like narration of the day he took in Sky. Its blunt and morbid tone juxtaposes the previously whimsical one. These final lines reinforce Jack’s character as that of a sensitive, yet unfiltered young boy.

“My street is not

in the middle

of the city

so it doesn’t have

that LOUD music

of horns and trucks

clash

flash

screech.

My street is

on the edge

of a city

and it has

quiet music

most of the time

whisp

meow

swish.”

Inspired by the mentor text “Street Music” by Arnold Adoff, Jack experiments with onomatopoeia to describe his neighborhood. He chooses sounds that feel characteristic of a quiet street—an important detail relevant to Sky’s story. Jack also makes a connection between mundane life and music, discovering that poetry can make art out of everyday experiences.

“At both ends

of our street

are yellow signs

that say

Caution! Children at Play!

but sometimes

the cars

pay no attention

and speed down

the road

as if

they are in a BIG hurry

with many miles to go

before they sleep.”

Jack emphasizes the color yellow throughout the book: the yellow dog, the yellow paper, and now, the yellow street signs. Yellow represents happiness in different ways; Sky is joy, the yellow paper is the pride Jack takes in publication, and the yellow street signs are supposed to represent safety. But when the aforementioned blue car ignores the yellow street signs, tragedy strikes.

“I am sorry

I took the book home

without asking.

I only got

one spot

on it.

That’s why

the page is torn.

I tried to get

the spot

out.”

Jack takes Walter Dean Myers’s poetry book home so that he can copy his favorite poem. Due to Love That Dog’s free verse format, there aren’t many words per page. This stanza feels like a strange detail to include in a book already so short on space, but details like these sprinkled throughout the story add character—strengthening readers’ connection to the protagonist and investment in his growth.

“And when us kids

were playing outside

kicking the ball

he’d chase after it

and push it with his nose

push push push

and getting slobber

all over the ball

but no one cared

because he was such

a funny dog

that dog Sky

that straggly furry

smiling

dog

Sky.”

Jack endears readers to Sky through vivid imagery. Even traditionally less appealing characteristics—slobber, straggly fur—are accepted because of Sky’s big, friendly personality, one that permeates the description.

“but don’t type up

that other secret one

I wrote—

the one all folded up

in the envelope

with tape on it.

That one uses too many of

Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s

words

and maybe

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

would get mad

about that.”

Jack foreshadows the plot’s direction by mentioning, but not publicly sharing, a secret poem that borrows from Myers’s work. This detail evokes the reader’s curiosity and creates a loose end that comes to fruition on the book’s final page. Though readers only hear Jack’s voice in the story, this stanza counts as one of the few times in which he omits contextual details.

“And thank you

for typing up

my secret poem

the one that uses

so many of

Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s

words

and I like what

you put

at the top:

Inspired by Walter Dean Myers.

That sounds good

to my ears.

Now no one

will think

I just copied

Because I

couldn’t think

of my own words.

They will know

I was

inspired by

Mr. Walter Dean Myers.”

Jack indeed feels uncomfortable plagiarizing other people’s work. Miss Stretchberry finds a way to appropriately reframe plagiarism as learning from a mentor text. Jack appreciates the phrase “Inspired by Walter Dean Myers” similarly to how he appreciates the rhythms and sounds in certain poems. Miss Stretchberry not only reframes the borrowed poem as exactly that, but she also makes the idea of borrowing—or inspiration—intrinsic to the poem’s greater meaning, making it feel intentional and professional.

“No.

No, no, no, no, no.

I can’t do it.

You should do it.

You’re a teacher.”

Like Jack’s secret poem, this short entry is yet another example of how the story’s one-sided conversation creates suspense. Jack’s repeated “no” tells readers that his teacher made an important request; this mystery engages readers’ attention as they think of possible scenarios the young poet might be responding to. Readers must turn the page to Jack’s next entry before he provides context.

“So what I am asking you

is this:

If you ever get time

to leave your house

and if you ever feel

like visiting a school

where there might be some kids

who like your poems

would you ever maybe

think about maybe

coming

maybe

to our school

which is a clean place

with mostly nice

people in it

and I think our teacher

Miss Stretchberry

would maybe even

make brownies for you

because she sometimes

makes them for us.”

Jack does his best to sell a hypothetical scenario—Myers visiting his class—hoping that he might meet his favorite poet, his new hero. Jack recognizes the many moving pieces that must fall into place for his dream to come true, this willingness to hope being a brave act in itself. Jack’s pitch is childlike but earnest as he appeals to Myers with his school’s cleanliness, its “mostly nice people,” and his teacher’s brownies. His argument’s simplicity endears readers, and likely Myers, to his dream.

“and I understand

if you can’t come

to our clean school

and read some of your poems

to us

and let us see your face

which I bet

is a friendly face.

My name is Jack.

Bye, Mr. Walter Dean Myers.”

At the end of Jack’s long letter to Myers—which is also one of the book’s longer journal entries—he finally introduces himself, creating a reverse structure that reflects the kind of excitement and forgetfulness endemic to young protagonists. Jack also emphasizes his age by always referring to Myers as “Mr. Walter Dean Myers,” a long but respectful way to show his admiration.

“maybe he’s away

maybe he’s on vacation

maybe he’s sick

maybe he’s hiding in a room

writing poems

maybe he’s baby-sitting

his children or his grandchildren

(if he’s married and stuff)

or maybe he has to go

to the dentist

or get that car fixed

or maybe someone died

(I really really really hope

someone did not die)”

Upon learning that Myers might not respond for a while (if at all), Jack quells his nagging hope by brainstorming reasons why the poet wouldn’t be able to visit. Jack starts rambling, his use of “maybe,” “or,” and parentheticals emphasizing his tumbling train of thought. The parentheses paired with Jack’s lack of other punctuation supplements this entry’s rambling effect.

“I didn’t know about

the spell-checking thing

inside the computer.

It is like a miracle

little brain

in there

a little helper brain.”

Jack utilizes simile to portray his first experience with a computer’s word processor. The simile compares the computer to “a miracle / little brain,” ethereal and oddly human in tandem. Even as Jack takes a step toward authorial independence, he finds comfort in technology’s unexpected help and guidance.

“blue car blue car

splattered with mud

hit Sky

thud thud thud

and kept on going

in such a hurry

so fast

so many miles to go

it couldn’t even stop

and

Sky

was just there

in the road

lying on his side

with his legs bent funny

and his side heaving

and he looked up at me

and I said

‘Sky! Sky! Sky!’

and then my dad

was there

and he lifted Sky

out of the road

and laid him on the grass

and

Sky

closed his eyes

and

he

never

opened

them

again

ever.”

Sky’s story encompasses the book’s most detailed plot as Jack spends most of his time reflecting on poetry as it relates to his dog and Myers. Processing poetry often requires some abstraction—like when readers experience Myers’s visit before and after the fact rather than experiencing it first-hand. Sky’s fate, which exists only in the past and can believably exist in the book’s journal format, incorporates a plot-driven storyline that helps balance Jack’s introspective thoughts.

“And the bookcase

looks like it’s

sprouting books

all of them by

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

lined up

looking back at us

waiting for

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

himself

to come

to our school

right into our classroom.”

Jack personifies the classroom’s library to emphasize his own expectant, hopeful attitude. Personification is a literary device that projects human traits onto inanimate objects. In this stanza, the books look back at Jack and wait for Myers alongside the eager protagonist.