Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic historical fiction

Another classic about a boy and his dog. While it was nice to have the happier ending than other such classics I’ve read recently, the story didn’t impress me overall. The main character, Marty, lies to everyone he cares about to take care of the dog that isn’t actually his, and his reasoning is that protecting Shiloh makes it okay. He feels bad about the lying and taking food that his family could use in order to feed the dog, but he does it anyway and gets away with it. I am not condoning animal abuse, but that doesn’t mean I condone lying and stealing to stop it. I’m not entirely sure what message Naylor was attempting to get across in this book, maybe that there’s not always an easy answer to a difficult question, but I think it could have been done better. I also think that a dog person might appreciate or enjoy the story more than I did. I wouldn’t really recommend this book for kids, other than perhaps to discuss the ethical questions presented within.

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