The World According to Garp – 4/5 Stars I am trying to figure out books from the late 1970s and early 1980s, because it’s like the first time that authors really wanted to dig into sexual politics in some ways that are interesting, definitely alarming, but also handled with a kind of lack of care, or certainly a different context. This book was a huge hit when it came out and won several awards. It’s generally very good, but there’s a weird weird weird scene […]
A Poet Writes According to His/Her Own Images and Rhythms
The story of Sharon Creech’s Jack from Love That Dog (2001) continues. Early in his school year, Jack reveals to his teacher that 1) he hates cats, and 2) his college professor Uncle Bill does not believe that the poems Jack had written in the previous school year are “real” poems because they are short, lack rhyme, a regular meter, symbols, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and alliteration. Thank goodness Jack has Miss Stretchberry as his teacher again because she tells him that all those elements his uncle mentioned are […]
So Much Depends on Being Inspired
My pleasure while reading Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog (2001) just could not be contained as evidenced by the Cheshire grin plastered on my face from the beginning to end of this novella. Related in free verse from the perspective of Jack through dated entries that span a school year, Love That Dog is quite charming and delightful. Read the full review.
In his moccasins
Another book by my intrepid students who decide that if they’ve ever read a book, they should ask me to read it. No worries, this one is perfectly good. I liked this book just fine. I am glad that my student asked me to check it out. I have read two other books by Sharon Creech, Love that Dog and Hate that Cat, about a student who is earnestly fighting against an assignment designed to make him love poetry. This one is a little different. In this […]
When mom is gone
This is not a book that I had been meaning to read, but it’s the first 7th grade reading assignment for this year, and I figured I might be able to help my son a bit if I read it too. Oy! I was not prepared for the gut punch of this story and I wonder what kind of conversations it will generate amongst 12 year olds. Walk Two Moons is the story of Salamanca Tree Hiddle and her family falling apart. She’s just a […]