In the beginning Jack refuses to write poems, but his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, presents one poem after the other to the class and she encourages the kids to write poems in a similar way. Miss Stretchberry starts with William Carlos William´s famous “The Red Wheelbarrow”, she goes on with Robert Frost´s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, she presents visual poetry, poems about pets and so on. Jack becomes more and more enthusiasthic about poems while experimenting with various writing possibilities. His feelings circle about a special theme and as he writes one poem after the other and one of his favourite poets even visits his class he manages to get along with his sorrow. Although this book seems to be written for children it shows also adults what it can be like to start the process of writing poems. It is an adventure that chances us and can make us free.
Ich empfehle die Originalfassung, die ich kürzlich sogar mit Audiokassette erworben habe. Das Buch ist jedoch auch in deutscher Sprache erhältlich. Hier sieht dann der Hund auf dem Cover ein bisschen anders aus.