Love That Dog

The class reads a poem by Walter Dean Myers called “Love that Boy,” which Jack instantly adores. He steals the book to copy the poem, which he then tapes to his bedroom ceiling so that he can read it again. He sheepishly apologizes for taking the book without permission.

Jack writes a secret poem about Sky and Miss Stretchberry posts it on the board. Jack tells her not to display the poem as it borrows too many words from Myers’s work, and he doesn’t want to anger his favorite poet. Miss Stretchberry assures Jack that Myers wouldn’t be angry and she adds a caption: “Inspired by Walter Dean Myers” (50). Jack likes the idea but still doesn’t want the poem displayed.

Jack asks if Miss Stretchberry could invite Myers to visit their school. When she suggests that Jack invite the poet himself, he insists that he can’t as “I think Mr. Walter Dean Myers / would like to hear / from a teacher / who uses big words / and knows how / to spell / and / to type” (54). Jack ends up writing the invitation. Miss Stretchberry mails the letter but informs Jack that Myers might not read it for months as the publisher must process it first.