Love That Dog is a heartwarming story about a boy named Jack who starts out the school year hating poetry. He thinks poetry is "for girls" and that his brain is simply empty when he tries to write.

Through his school journals, we see Jack’s teacher, Miss Stretchberry, gently push him to try. She introduces him to famous poems, and slowly, Jack begins to realize that poems don't have to be fancy or rhyming—they just have to be honest.

As Jack finds his voice, he uses his poems to share a secret he’s been keeping: the story of his "yellow dog" and what happened to him. By the end of the book, Jack isn't just a student who has to write poetry; he's a poet who uses words to heal his heart.