"When Marty Preston comes across a young beagle in the hills behind his home, it's love at first sight—and also big trouble. It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers who drinks too much and has a gun—and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty, Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to keep to himself, and it exposes his entire family to Judd's anger. How far will Marty have to go to make Shiloh his?"
Awards and Nominations:
- Newbery Medal (1992)
- Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 6-8 (1993)
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (1993)
- Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award for Youth (1994)
- Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1994)
- Children's Choice Book Award (1994)
- New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award (1994)
- IRA-CBC Teacher's Choice, William Allen White Children's Book Award (1994)
- Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children (1994)
- Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (1994)
- Texas Bluebonnet Award (1994)
- Grand Canyon Reader Award for Intermediate Book (1994)
- Nene Award (1994)
- Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1994)
- Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (1994)
- Bluestem Book Award Nominee (2015)
I still remember vividly when my dad showed up in the middle of the day from work and he left a beagle in our yard. He told my mom not to let my brother or I play with it until he got home and could really spend time with it. At the time the movie Shiloh had just been released on VHS and we happened to have a copy. I remember looking through our front door at the dog and saying he looked like Shiloh on the cover. And just like that our new dog was named Shiloh. And coincidentally had a very similar life to the Shiloh in the movie.
Shiloh is about a young boy named Marty and a beagle he finds near a bridge where he lives. Marty feels a connection and pull to the dog and fears that his owner, Judd Travers, is not treating the dog right. Marty knows that his parents will not let him have a dog, especially one that belongs to someone. But the beagle, which Marty names Shiloh, shows up again and Marty decides to build a makeshift pen and hide Shiloh on the hill by their house. Everything is fine until Shiloh is in an accident and Judd finds out that Marty has been hiding his dog.
I actually watched the movie years before I read the book. I first read it in college for a children's literature class I had to take. It was a wonderful read and triggered a lot of happy thoughts and memories then. Now that I'm reading through award lists I decided it was officially time for a reread. I love that this book really focuses on the love and joy that a pet can bring to a family when they are treated well. Shiloh was clearly being treated poorly by Judd. Judd wouldn't feed them to teach them a lesson or he would kick them if they did something wrong. His dogs were not named but were called whatever foul thing came out of his mouth. Marty sensed that this dog needed help and wanted love, and Marty acted on that. Marty worked hard to get Shiloh even though he knew his parents didn't have the money to afford a dog. In turn, each and every member of his family fell madly in love with Shiloh. His dad was seen letting Shiloh lick his plate after he had finished dinner. This book has small moments that will make you reminisce about your favorite pet and the memories you have with them.
Unfortunately, I watched the movie before reading the book which means that I prefer the movie over the book. There were a lot of things that were in the movie but weren't in the book. One of the main things being Sam! In the movie, Marty has a friend named Sam. She lives in town and they talk about Shiloh and she gives advice about what to do. Sam also clearly has a crush on Marty and it gives it a nice fluff to a story that is very much written with a boy in mind.
This book is about so much more than a boy wanting a dog and saving one that is being abused. It is about a boy setting a goal with himself and working to reach the goal to get what he wants. I love when books have serious goal-setting in them where it takes grit and hard work to reach them. I give this 5 stars. At some point, I plan to read the rest of the books in this series.
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