“I am glad

you are my teacher

again.

I hope you will

keep moving up

a grade

every year

along with me.

You understand

my

brain.”

These early lines establish Jack’s positive and trusting relationship with Miss Stretchberry. Because he feels that she understands him, he feels he can be honest in his writing with her as his audience. Since he already knows her and is comfortable with her, she can push him a little and ask him tough questions. He also knows he can trust her with his authentic responses. Jack opens himself up to The Emotional Power of Poetry because he feels safe with Miss Stretchberry.

“No, I can’t write any more

about my dog Sky.”

Jack writes a lot about Sky in Love That Dog; however, in Hate That Cat, he claims to have nothing more to say on the subject of his beloved pet whose death caused Jack a great deal of heartache. Nevertheless, Jack ends up writing quite a bit about Sky, indicating that he sees poetry as a safe place to work through his grief. His reluctance to consider the topic indicates how painful the loss of Sky still is to Jack and hints at Jack’s fears about loving and losing again.