48 pages 1 hour read

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shiloh Season

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of animal abuse.

Marty’s father, Ray, picks him up from the sleepover, and they deliver mail together. Ray is a reliable mailman, so people leave him treats in their mailboxes, like cake. Marty loves the treats. Ray mentions that Judd said he lost the best hunting dog he ever had, Shiloh. This upsets Marty because he saved and earned Shiloh by working for Judd. Ray tells his son not to worry about Judd.

When they deliver Judd’s mail, he’s not home. They guess that he might be working at the mechanic shop. Judd has other hunting dogs chained up outside. The dogs bark and snarl, and Marty wonders if Judd fed the animals. At home, Marty plays with Shiloh. As they run through the woods, Judd drives by. He stops his truck and asks Marty to come over. Someone keyed his truck, so he asks Marty about it. Marty promises he doesn’t know who the culprit might be, but he promises to let Judd know if he hears any gossip about it. Shiloh stays away from Judd.

Later, Marty helps Doc Murphy with landscaping. He is paying Doc through labor because Doc stitched Shiloh up after he was attacked by another dog.