
Love That Dog
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Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists · 3 states
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is assigned in US schools at grades 4–8. It appears across 3 curriculum references and 3 states, 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.
- 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
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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 3 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
poetry, fiction · poetry · authorship · new york times reviewed
Where this book is assigned
Land of Enchantment Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · New Mexicosource: Land of Enchantment Book Award committee (NM Library Association) — official list of past winners 1981-2021 and 2026 winners — 2004 Young Adult winner
- recommended·7th grade · New Mexicosource: Land of Enchantment Book Award committee (NM Library Association) — official list of past winners 1981-2021 and 2026 winners — 2004 Young Adult winner
- recommended·8th grade · New Mexicosource: Land of Enchantment Book Award committee (NM Library Association) — official list of past winners 1981-2021 and 2026 winners — 2004 Young Adult winner
Maine Student Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Mainesource: Maine Student Book Award — Maine's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-8): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·5th grade · Mainesource: Maine Student Book Award — Maine's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-8): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·6th grade · Mainesource: Maine Student Book Award — Maine's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-8): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·7th grade · Mainesource: Maine Student Book Award — Maine's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-8): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·8th grade · Mainesource: Maine Student Book Award — Maine's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-8): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) — winner list 1957-2020 via Wikipedia — 2003 winner
- recommended·5th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) — winner list 1957-2020 via Wikipedia — 2003 winner
- recommended·6th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) — winner list 1957-2020 via Wikipedia — 2003 winner
- recommended·7th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) — winner list 1957-2020 via Wikipedia — 2003 winner
- recommended·8th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) — winner list 1957-2020 via Wikipedia — 2003 winner
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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 Land of Enchantment Book Award, Maine Student Book Award, Vermont Golden Dome 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 classifyHide
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 3 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 3 states ELA frameworks 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.