Cover of Love That Dog

Love That Dog

by Sharon Creech

Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Maine Student Book Award

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is assigned in US schools at grades 4–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Love That Dog is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

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Grade range
Grades 4–8
Age range
Ages 9–13
Pages
92
Reading time
about 1h 40m (est.)
First published
2001
Genre
Poetry
ISBN-13
9789655114126

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

*Love that Dog* is a story about a young boy named Jack, and how he learns to love poetry. At the same time, he learns to open up about his feelings on a subject learned only if you read the book. The novel is empathetic, joyful, and quite heartbreaking at times, hence creating a great book.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Love That Dog→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Poetry title, typically at grades 4–8. Written in the 2000s; pairs with curriculum units on poetry, fiction and poetry; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

poetry, fiction · poetry · authorship · new york times reviewed

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Love That Dog?
Love That Dog is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read Love That Dog?
It takes about 1h 40m to read Love That Dog (92 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 100 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Love That Dog?
Love That Dog appears on reading lists for Maine Student Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Love That Dog banned in schools?
Love That Dog does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does Love That Dog explore?
Central themes in Love That Dog include poetry, fiction, poetry, authorship, new york times reviewed. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 4–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club.

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