THE POET'S DOG

THE POET'S DOG by Patricia MacLachlan

It was "mismatched teacups" tea and reading day! We finished up Patricia MacLachlan's The Poet's Dog. This is another short chapter book, and to be brutally honest, I didn't love it at first. But it was one of those books that grew on me.

After a blizzard sets in, two children, Nickel and Flora, must seek shelter. Just when all seems lost they are rescued by an Irish Wolfhound dog. He leads them to a cozy cabin in the woods where he lives. As the story progresses we find out that he belonged to a Poet named Sylvan who has passed away. The story is one of memories and new beginnings and touching. What took me a little while to get into was that the dog talks. He is able to be heard by Poets and children, no one else. With the difficult topics this book covers, it was a little hard to believe a talking dog, but now thinking back on the book, the talking dog is what makes the hard topic of loss broachable with kids. It is an element of whimsy and fantasy in so tough a topic.