Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, 144 pagesBook Awards II Challenge: Newbery 1992; books to movie challenge
A beagle follows Marty home one day, and soon a boy and his dog cannot be separated. Only, there are a few problems. One, the dog belongs to mean Judd Travers who abuses his dogs. Two, Marty's family can barely afford food for themsleves, let alone to feed a stray dog. As Marty tries to find a way to save Shiloh, he faces some ethical dilemmas. Is a lie of ommision as bad a an outright lie? Does the abuse of the dog not override the ownership of the dog? How far will Marty go to keep Shiloh?
This is a great little story for young readers and dog lovers. I know a little girl age 8 who I'm planning to pass this along to. She's a modern kid though, and this cover doesn't appeal to her at all. If it was the movie edition with a live action photo, she'd be all over it.
I am sharing this book with my students aged 8-10. They are quite enjoying it and I am sure the young lady you have in mind will too!
ReplyDeleteI just saw a copy of a book called "Saving Shiloh" at a book sale; it had a similar picture of a kid and beagle on it. I'm assuming it's a sequel; have you heard of it?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those books that I've always meant to read, but never have. Someday...
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that the cover could definitely use some updating.
tara - I've got the movie here now, so she might read it after she sees the movie. We just got Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, and Shiloh can't compete with that at all.
ReplyDeletejeane - yes! I just recently discovered that there are 2 sequels with Shiloh. thanks for the heads up.
debi - If there was a real dog picture on the cover, she would have been all over it. She loved the book Because of Winn Dixie. Loved! You should read it for the 24 hour - it's very short. Oh, wait. You've got about 50 books already to pick from, don't you? *grins*
I missed the vocab with week - it was parent teacher interviews, but it looks like my sentences with one or two words would have stood a better chance this week! I'll pop back in now and then.
After reading this review, I would like to send you a review copy of Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, the third book in the Planet of the Dogs series. It's the true story of how, long, long ago, dogs came down from their own planet and saved Christmas.
ReplyDeletePlease email us with a postal address at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will be happy to send you our book.
Please visit, for more information and sample chapters, www.planetofthedogs.net and http://barkingplanet.typepad.com
Best wishes,
Robert McCarty
Barking Planet Productions
I can totally relate to the cover thing - I have so many kids' books that I have to weed because of a) old or b) Canadian covers. I don't know what it is about Canadian kids' publishers, but they have a really hard time with kid-appealing covers.
ReplyDeleteI liked Shiloh, too, definitely a good story for young dog-lovers of either gender.
I've gotta read Diary of a Wimpy Kid and see what all the fuss is about - I've been getting a lot of requests for it lately.
shiloh is so cool i am reading it and i am in grade 6 concerning that im a christian i think they swear or tacke the LORDSname in vain to often but the suspence after every chapter is amazing (quote:im just about to step into the meadow when crack!) the book is amazing!
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