Bloomsbury, 2008. Very minor signs of wear, some foxing, good secondhand copy.

The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, introduced Jack in Love That Dog, a New York Times bestseller. Both Love That Dog and Hate That Cat are approachable, funny, warm-hearted introductions to poetry told from the point of view of a very real kid wrestling with school assignments.

These books are fast reads that will be welcomed by middle graders as they too wonder how poetry and schoolwork connect with their interests and how to uncover their true voices.

In Hate That Cat, Jack is only trying to save that fat black cat stuck in the tree by his bus stop—but the cat scratches him instead! At school Miss Stretchberry begins teaching new poems, everything from William Carlos Williams to Valerie Worth to T.S. Eliot.

As the year progresses, Jack gradually learns to love that cat and finds new ways to express himself.