Shiloh

Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Year: 1991
Genre: Novel
Reading Level: Intermediate
Series: First in the Shiloh Trilogy

Plot Summary: While wandering the woods around his rural West Virginia home, eleven-year-old Marty Preston runs into a small beagle that follows him home. Marty is very taken with the dog, and is concerned at the way it shows signs of mistreatment. Not long after the dog has been taken back by its owner, the beagle shows up at Marty's house again. Naming him Shiloh, Marty is determined to keep him safe, whether Shiloh's owner likes it or not.

Red Flags: Some dog violence, hunting

Award/s: Newbery winner, 1992

Movie Version: Shiloh

My Rating: B. I'll admit, I expected a bit more from this book, being a Newbery winner and all. It was good, it was a good story and it pulls the heartstrings a little, but it didn't blow me away. I think I was unintentionally comparing it to Because of Winn-Dixie the whole time, and that book is the superior Newbery-winning dog tale.