Shiloh Season [Paperback]

A Reading Group Guide to

The Shiloh Trilogy
By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


About the Trilogy

The Shiloh Trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor launched by the Newbery Award–winning novelShiloh, takes readers straight into the heart and soul of an eleven-year-old West Virginia boy named Marty Preston. His family of five has barely enough food and room for themselves, never mind a pet. But when Marty finds an abused beagle out in the woods, he’s willing to go to almost any length to hold on to him. The story of how Marty keeps Shiloh and at the same time tries to balance his responsibilities to his family, to the dog’s troubled original owner, and, perhaps trickiest of all, to himself, unfolds in an unforgettable trilogy. Each book is richly rewarding on its own. Together they form one of the most deeply felt sagas in modern children’s literature.

Discussion Topics

1. Marty loves animals. What details does the author provide, right from the opening paragraphs ofShiloh, that make this clear to readers? What does Marty teach Judd about loving animals inShiloh SeasonandSaving Shiloh?

2. “A lie don’t seem a lie anymore when it’s meant to save a dog,” Marty says inShiloh, ”and right and wrong’s all mixed up in my head.” Discuss how Marty continues to wrestle with right and wrong inShiloh SeasonandSaving Shiloh.

3. Marty feels that his choices, inShiloh,come down to either hiding the dog and keeping it secret, or giving it back to Judd. Debate whether there are other possibilities that Marty hasn’t considered.

4. Explain Marty’s comment inSaving Shiloh,“Trying to be polite and honest at the same time is hard work.” Rate Marty on his ability to be both polite and honest.

5. Marty’s dream of becoming a velãd