Shiloh

Shiloh

• Genre: Fiction; realistic middle grade
• Originally Published: 1991
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 890L; grades 3-7
• Structure/Length: 15 chapters; approx. 145 pages; approx. 2 hours, 47 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Marty is 11 years old and is growing up in West Virginia, helping his family and longing for a dog. When a beagle, Shiloh, follows him home one day, a friendship forms, but his father makes him return Shiloh to the dog’s abusive owner Judd. Marty refuses to give up, though, facing one challenge after another to save Shiloh.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Animal abuse; child abuse

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Author

• Bio: Born in 1933 in Indiana; grew up with siblings and parents during the Depression, with reading as a focus; started writing stories in elementary school; earned BA from American University; worked as clinical secretary, teacher, and other jobs; Shiloh adapted for film; has written over 130 books and thousands of stories; writes on a clipboard in her favorite chair; multiple Edgar Allan Poe Awards; multiple ALA Awards
• Other Works: Witch’s Sister (1975) Agony of Alice (1985); Shiloh Season (1986); Incredibly Alice (2011)
• Awards: John Newbery Medal (1992), Sequoyah Children’s Book Award (1994), Mark Twain Readers Award (1994) 

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Moral Ambiguity
• Dishonesty, Secrets, and Lies
• Love and Loyalty

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of social and cultural contexts regarding moral dilemmas that incite Marty’s conflict.
• Discuss paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Moral Ambiguity, Love and Loyalty, and Dishonesty, Secrets, and Lies.
• Plan and design a mock trial to bring Judd to justice based on evidence from the novel.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Judd, lying, and other topics.