Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Marty sees a dog when he is out wandering around the countryside near his home in West Virginia. This dog is clearly neglected and very frightened but the little beagle seems to recognise Marty won't hurt him, Marty will be his friend.  Trouble is this dog does have an owner. Judd Travers is a violent man. He keeps his hunting dogs hungry and treats them with abuse. Marty needs to save this dog, the dog he has named Shiloh but they have no money, food is short in their family, mum and dad have said no many times when the children ask for a dog and mean Mr Travers is not likely to give up his dog especially when he paid $35 for him.

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"And then, hardly thinking on it, I whistle. Its like pressing a magic button. The beagle comes barrelling toward me, legs going lickety-split, long ears flopping, tail sticking up like a flagpole. I put out my hand, he licks all my fingers and jumps up against my leg, making little yelps in his throat. He can't get enough of me."

"Tell him I'm coming back tomorrow with some kind of leash for him. Tell him we're going to run all over that hill, him and me, every day. Tell him he's my dog now, and I'm not never going to let anyone hurt him again ever ... "

"What worries me most is that Judd could go through with the bargain, give Shiloh to me, but then someday, when Shiloh's running free in the woods by himself, Judd might put a bullet in his head, just to spite me."

I saw Shiloh at a recent charity book sale.  I have read this book in the past but it is one of my favourites so I picked it for for just $2 and yesterday I had a wonderful day revisiting this very special Newbery Award winning book. 

As a bonus at the back of this copy the author explains that she really did see a neglected dog like Shiloh and that, while she didn't take him home, some family friends adopted him and he even went on school visits so children could meet the real Shiloh. 

I am a little bit obsessed with dog stories - here are a few favourites:

One Dog and his Boy

Too Small to Fail

How to Steal a Dog

Because of Winn Dixie

I, Cosmo

Everything for a Dog

The truth as told to Mason Buttle

Talking to Alaska

There are two sequels to Shiloh: