“Remember the wheelbarrow poem / you read / the first week / of school? / 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.” p. 22
Reader's Annotation
Jack doesn’t want to write poetry…he feels that he’s just not good at it, and only girls write poetry anyway. But then his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, reads aloud something by a guy named William Carlos Williams…
About the Author
Sharon Creech was born in Ohio, and grew up with her parents, a sister and three brothers. Her childhood experiences, and especially family car trips, often figure into her writing. She earned a Master’s degree in literature and writing, and has taught high school language arts in Switzerland and England. Creech has written several books for children -- including the Nobel-prize-winning Walk Two Moons -- but has also written a play, adult fiction, and poetry. She and her husband, who have two grown children, are living in a cottage in England this year. On her Web site (link above), she writes: “Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.”
Genre
Journal, Poetry, Novel in Verse
Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 9-11
Plot Summary
The novel is told in the first-person through Jack’s journal entries from September through June, in which he communicates every few days with his teacher, Miss Stretchberry. Jack’s age is never given, but the level of vocabulary in his journal and the nature of what is important to him appear to suggest that he is about ten or eleven years old. Miss Stretchberry is attempting to expose Jack and his classmates to the enjoyment and writing of poetry, but Jack at first does not want anything to do with it. He feels that boys don’t write poetry, and that he’s just not good at it. But then Miss Stretchberry reads aloud The Red Wheelbarrow, by William Carlos Williams, which so vividly and yet so simply captures a scene in only sixteen words, without capitalization, and with only one mark of punctuation. This opens up an entirely unforeseen adventure for Jack, as he realizes that poetry is not defined by form, but by descriptive language and the expression of feeling. He begins to try writing poetry, and gradually becomes more and more comfortable with Miss Stretchberry posting his pieces on the class bulletin board for all to see. In his poems, Jack addresses his feelings about Sky, his late and much beloved pet dog. Jack becomes so enthralled with poetry that he eventually contemplates inviting poet and novelist Walter Dean Myers to visit his classroom, but isn’t sure if he would want to hear from someone who’s just “a boy who likes his poems”.
Series Note
The sequel to this novel is Hate That Cat (2008), which I have reviewed here.
Critical Evaluation
This is a quietly powerful book about the magic of poetry. The leisurely pace of the novel realistically shows the gradual nature of narrator Jack’s transformation from a boy who feels that he has no desire to try writing poetry to one who becomes completely engaged by the sounds of and feelings evoked by poems, and writes his own pieces from his heart. Through his honest entries in his poetic journal, we can see that Miss Stretchberry’s enthusiasm for Jack’s writing greatly increases his confidence in his abilities. Thus the novel also celebrates the huge potential of a supportive child/teacher relationship. The language of the novel is fairly simple for the most part, yet not childish, appropriate for a boy Jack’s age who has some exposure to literature. Details of setting -- except those that relate to Jack’s reminiscences about his dog -- are few and rather unnecessary in this book which focuses on inner growth. And as this is a journal, the tone varies and changes, from apprehensive to content to exuberant, to many moods in between. Above all, the feeling that I get when reading this novel is one of Creech stopping the world for a moment to highlight the importance of taking time to absorb the simple loveliness of language, and empowering us with the implied advice that each of us has the ability to express ourselves honestly and beautifully.
Booktalking Ideas
• Read a couple of the well-known poems mentioned in the book, together with the poems that Jack writes in these styles.
• Talk about Jack’s dog, asking audience to talk about their pets too.
• Talk about Jack’s changing feelings about reading, hearing, and writing poetry.
Curriculum Ideas
• Literature: Every day students take turns reading favorite poems aloud.
• Literature: Students invite a local poet to their classroom to read and talk about writing poetry, and before she arrives, brainstorm questions to ask her.
• Language Arts: Students keep a poetry journal, in which teacher writes responses. Students read their own poems aloud periodically.
Potential Challenge Issues & Defense
I do not foresee any challenges to this book, but if any were to arise, the following steps could be taken in defense:
• Become familiar enough with the book’s content to promote its literary merits.
• Refer to library’s collection development policy.
• Refer to book reviews from authoritative sources such as ALA, School Library Journal, etc.
• Obtain book reviews from tweens who have read it.
Why I Chose This Book
I picked up this novel by chance several months ago, and was immediately captured by its honest and engaging narrator, and simple yet powerful poetic journal format. Reading the entire book a few days ago, my initial feelings about its concise beauty were more than confirmed.
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