So, a few people have approached me about this whole Love That Dog thing...I can only assume as a result of my admission in class last week to being a huge dork and reading ahead. I really just couldn't help myself. Many people confessed that they kind of put off opening this book but were pleasantly surprised and loved loved loved it. Sadly...I must disagree. I definitely did not 'hate that book', but I didn't love it like...a farmer loves...farms...or something. The further I got into the book, the more I felt this nagging feeling that something didn't fit quite right. But when I got to the end I was so overwhelmed with appreciation for Sharon Creech's brevity that I completely forgot about that uneasy feeling. Until today. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't think the book's format always fit the storyline or Jack as a character. Don't get me wrong, his poetry is ridiculously endearing, and most of the time you just want to pick up that little figment of Creech's imagination and give him a good hugging, but there were other times when I felt like the cute poeticism was a little over the top and, thus, unbelievable. But putting that qualm aside, please allow me to now completely contradict myself: I loved loved loved this book! For personal reasons really. Call me crazy but I find it really hard to be inspired to write unless I've read or seen something that's inspired me. I really don't think teachers do a good enough job of showing kids that it's okay to feed off of someone else's creative juices (read: 'internalize & synthesize', not 'plagiarize') and I really think that's when our minds are most open. And that there is incredible beauty in the honest and 'accidental' writing to which most children are prone. So I really must thank Ms. Creech for that...and for stopping talking once she had gotten her point across, which is rare for adults.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
love that book
So, a few people have approached me about this whole Love That Dog thing...I can only assume as a result of my admission in class last week to being a huge dork and reading ahead. I really just couldn't help myself. Many people confessed that they kind of put off opening this book but were pleasantly surprised and loved loved loved it. Sadly...I must disagree. I definitely did not 'hate that book', but I didn't love it like...a farmer loves...farms...or something. The further I got into the book, the more I felt this nagging feeling that something didn't fit quite right. But when I got to the end I was so overwhelmed with appreciation for Sharon Creech's brevity that I completely forgot about that uneasy feeling. Until today. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't think the book's format always fit the storyline or Jack as a character. Don't get me wrong, his poetry is ridiculously endearing, and most of the time you just want to pick up that little figment of Creech's imagination and give him a good hugging, but there were other times when I felt like the cute poeticism was a little over the top and, thus, unbelievable. But putting that qualm aside, please allow me to now completely contradict myself: I loved loved loved this book! For personal reasons really. Call me crazy but I find it really hard to be inspired to write unless I've read or seen something that's inspired me. I really don't think teachers do a good enough job of showing kids that it's okay to feed off of someone else's creative juices (read: 'internalize & synthesize', not 'plagiarize') and I really think that's when our minds are most open. And that there is incredible beauty in the honest and 'accidental' writing to which most children are prone. So I really must thank Ms. Creech for that...and for stopping talking once she had gotten her point across, which is rare for adults.
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Okay, I think your critique is really valid. I DEFINITLY get the sense that parts of this story are just "too sweet" to be true. Jack seems to be a couple of students that I've met, but his character doesn't ever really unify (maybe because of the things you pointed out). That said, I also love the book despite its flaws. She was doing something cool here for sure. Now I want to see a children's book as a BLOG!
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