Shiloh

Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Title: Shiloh
Illustrator: NA
Genre: Chapter book
Subgenre: reality, love
Theme: Follow your heart, work hard, and keep with your word and God will acknowledge your hearts desires.
Primary and secondary characters: Marty, Shiloh, and Judd Travers
Award and date of publication: Newbery Award winner and was published in 2000.
Publishing Company: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

This book is about a young boy named Marty, who goes off one day to play by the creek. He comes across this dog who keeps following him. Marty is trying to ignore this dog, because he knows him Ma and Pa will be mad if he brings the dog home, and gives them another mouth to feed. The dog ends up following Marty all the way home. Later on when his dad comes home they take the dog who Marty named "Shiloh," back to his owner Judd Travers. When they drop the dog off Judd is mean. He talks about how he is going to starve and beat Shiloh for running away. By the way the dog acts, Marty knows its true. On the way home, Marty is devastated that they had to take Shiloh back to his owners house. A couple of days later Shiloh finds Marty again. This time Marty swears he will not take Shiloh back to that evil man's house. Marty hides Shiloh from his family for about a week, until a German Shepard attacks Shiloh in the cage that Marty made for him. Everyone in Marty's family finds out about Shiloh and is very upset, but they now worry more about Shiloh and fixing his wounds. Marty and his pa take Shiloh to the Doc's house and the Doc keeps him overnight. The next day the Doc brings Shiloh back to Marty's house, and Judd finds out the dog is at Marty's and comes to retrieve him. Judd is mad that they have his dog, but agrees to let Shiloh stay until his wounds heal. A couple days later Marty walks over to Judd's, because he wanted to talk to him about keeping Shiloh. When Marty gets close to Judd's house he sees him killing a deer out of deer season. Marty tells Judd if he does not let him keep Shiloh he will tell the cops. Judd agrees as long as Marty work for Judd, for forty hours. When Marty is half way done with all his hours Judd tells him he is a fool, and he is not letting him keep Shiloh. Marty ignores Judd and decides to do the work anyways. It all works out for Marty, because in the end Judd softens and lets Marty have Shiloh.

This is a good book to teach students that hard work and dedication pays off, in the end. Marty was determined to make Shiloh his, and in the end he stood to his values, hard work, and dedication and he made Shiloh his.