Setting is a literary device that establishes a narrative’s place and time. Love That Dog takes place in a classroom—specifically, Room 105 with Miss Stretchberry. From the book’s first page, readers can make a few assumptions: Jack attends school—but doesn’t necessarily want to be in class—and his teacher requires her students to write poetry. Jack also dates each journal entry according to the school year (September to June). With dates provided throughout the story, readers can easily track Jack’s character development and writing style.

Allusions reference generally well-known people, places, or literary works in passing. The book makes allusions to various poems as Miss Stretchberry introduces them to her students. Miss Stretchberry is Jack’s only audience—bar the class seeing his later poems—so when he makes references, he knows she understands their context. Still, Jack provides enough context for readers to identify which poems are being discussed. In Love That Dog’s Bloomsbury edition, its final pages contain the heavily alluded mentor texts and relevant excerpts.