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Sky/The Yellow Dog
Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014) is a famous American author and Jack’s favorite poet. Miss Stretchberry reads his poem “Love That Boy” to her class, and Jack adores the poem because the father in the poem calls to his son the exact same way that Jack’s dad calls Jack: “Hey there, son!” Jack likes the poem so much that he writes his own poem that borrows the language and form of “Love That Boy,” though when Jack discovers that Myers is still alive, he’s distraught—he fears Myers might be mad at him for copying. However, with Miss Stretchberry’s encouragement (and her insistence that Myers is kind), Jack eventually works up the courage to write to the poet and invite him to visit Miss Stretchberry’s classroom. Myers does, and the experience is extremely meaningful for Jack. In addition to describing Myers’s voice and laugh as warm, friendly, and the best he’s ever heard, Jack is also thrilled when Myers reveals that he’d be honored if a student borrowed some of his words. Jack ultimately sends Myers his poem, which is titled “Love That Dog.”
Walter Dean Myers Quotes in Love That Dog
The Love That Dog quotes below are all either spoken by Walter Dean Myers or refer to Walter Dean Myers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Love That Dog
Quotes
I sure liked that poem
by Mr. Walter Dean Myers
called
“Love That Boy.”
Because of two reasons I liked it:
One is because
my dad calls me
in the morning
just like that.
He calls
Hey there, son!
And also because
when I had my
yellow dog
I loved that dog
and I would call him
like this—
I’d say—
Hey there, Sky!
(His name was Sky.)
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Explanation and Analysis:
Yes, you can type up
what I wrote about
my dog Sky
but don’t type up
that other secret one
I wrote—
the one all folded up
in the envelope
with tape on it.
That one uses too many of
Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s
words
and maybe
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
would get mad
about that.
And thank you
for typing up
my secret poem
the one that uses
so many of
Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s
words
and I like what
you put
at the top:
Inspired by Walter Dean Myers.
I don’t agree
that Mr. Walter Dean Myers
might like to hear
from a boy
who likes his poems.
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.
The bulletin board
looks like it’s
blooming words
with everybody’s poems
up there
on all those
colored sheets of paper
yellow blue pink red green.
And the bookcase
looks like it’s
sprouting books
all of them by
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
looking back at us
[...]
All of my blood
in my veins
was bubbling
and all of the thoughts
in my head
were buzzing
and
I wanted to keep
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
at our school
forever.
And it was nice of you
to read all of our poems
on the bulletin board
and I hope it didn’t
make you
too sad
when you read the one
about my dog Sky
getting smooshed in the road.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
LOVE THAT DOG
(Inspired by Walter Dean Myers)
By Jack
Love that dog,
like a bird loves to fly
I said I love that dog
like a bird loves to fly
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
“Hey there, Sky!”
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Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Love That Dog LitChart as a printable PDF.
Walter Dean Myers Quotes in Love That Dog
The Love That Dog quotes below are all either spoken by Walter Dean Myers or refer to Walter Dean Myers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Love That Dog
Quotes
I sure liked that poem
by Mr. Walter Dean Myers
called
“Love That Boy.”
Because of two reasons I liked it:
One is because
my dad calls me
in the morning
just like that.
He calls
Hey there, son!
And also because
when I had my
yellow dog
I loved that dog
and I would call him
like this—
I’d say—
Hey there, Sky!
(His name was Sky.)
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Yes, you can type up
what I wrote about
my dog Sky
but don’t type up
that other secret one
I wrote—
the one all folded up
in the envelope
with tape on it.
That one uses too many of
Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s
words
and maybe
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
would get mad
about that.
And thank you
for typing up
my secret poem
the one that uses
so many of
Mr. Walter Dean Myers’s
words
and I like what
you put
at the top:
Inspired by Walter Dean Myers.
I don’t agree
that Mr. Walter Dean Myers
might like to hear
from a boy
who likes his poems.
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.
The bulletin board
looks like it’s
blooming words
with everybody’s poems
up there
on all those
colored sheets of paper
yellow blue pink red green.
And the bookcase
looks like it’s
sprouting books
all of them by
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
looking back at us
[...]
All of my blood
in my veins
was bubbling
and all of the thoughts
in my head
were buzzing
and
I wanted to keep
Mr. Walter Dean Myers
at our school
forever.
And it was nice of you
to read all of our poems
on the bulletin board
and I hope it didn’t
make you
too sad
when you read the one
about my dog Sky
getting smooshed in the road.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
LOVE THAT DOG
(Inspired by Walter Dean Myers)
By Jack
Love that dog,
like a bird loves to fly
I said I love that dog
like a bird loves to fly
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
“Hey there, Sky!”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
