Shiloh Blog

shiloh books in order

hi im your biggest fan. im in the 5 grade and i was wondering what Shiloh book comes after Shiloh?

your biggest fan😁🥰😁😄

Shiloh Season, then Saving Shiloh, and finally A Shiloh Christmas

Inspired So Many

First of all, I am so proud to have a fellow Hoosier write and make such a mark on the heart of all who read your Shiloh books. I know that your books have opened hearts, young and old, to the idea that we need to care for, and have compassion, for other living things.

I once volunteered a local animal shelter in Hamilton County in Indiana. I asked a worker what inspired her to go into animal rescue, and she said that it was when she read Shiloh in grade school. As a teacher, I became very interested in your book, and as I read it, I felt every one of your words in my heart!

I want you to know that the last who was so inspired by Shiloh did not appear to be well, and yet your book meant so much to her. I hope that you are proud of how your work put such an impression in the heart of someone who probably struggled with school.

I am now retired after teaching in Noblesville Schools. I am thinking about leading an online book club that features books on animal care and rescue. Your will definitely be one of those books!

I know that your book mentions poverty in a very sensitive, caring way. I want to make sure that the setting of your book is in the Depression Era. My grandmother grew up in rural Indiana during those times, and so many things you write about resonate with what she told me. I don’t want to misinform my students.

Thanks so much!

I’m not sure I had any particular era in mind.  I grew up during the Depression, so I’m sure that those years influenced me, though my parents still read to us aloud for a long time each night, and that was the best part for me.  Marty’s grandmother is in a nursing home and has dementia, as becomes more clear in the other three Shiloh books, and Marty’s parents have to pay for her care.  So even though his dad is a mailman, they live in a very small four-room house, and Marty longs for a room of his own, as you’ll read about later (just as I longed for a room, but didn’t get one until we moved again and I was starting 8th grade in Illiniois).  So adding a dog to the household is just not something Marty’s Dad will accept, and of course, Shiloh legally belongs to Judd at the start of the story.

 

Letter from Minnesota parents

Dear Ms. Naylor,

I was dissatisfied with the education my 4th grade son  was receiving this year as our schools are still closed while we struggle with the pandemic, so I withdrew him from school to teach him at home myself. I found a language arts curriculum online and the first book they recommended was “Shiloh.”

I have been reading the book aloud to our son in order to better evaluate his homework assignments. Little did I know how powerful your book would be. I have never read a piece of literature that has made me this emotional in my lifetime. The thorny ethical situation and the high stakes of the decisions Marty makes have made this an exceptionally rich reading experience. I often have to pause in my reading to finish the tears I shed, otherwise my words would sound unintelligible. I should mention that I am not even a dog owner!

I am certain you have received numerous letters and messages like mine, but I wanted to thank you myself. Thank you for writing this fine book. We look forward to following Shiloh and Marty’s adventures.

Please accept our warmest wishes from Saint Paul, Minnesota.

J

You can’t know how happy I was to learn that you read the book to your son–how delighted I am when I hear from teachers who reward their class each day by reading aloud another chapter in a beloved book.  The happiest part of my childhood–growing up during the Depression–was the half hour or more that either Mom or Dad read to us aloud every evening with great expression and drama.  I will never forget Dad’s reading of  Huckleberry Finn.   Or the way we laughed at Toad and his motor car in Wind in the Willows.  There is nothing, I think, that spurs a child into wanting to grab a book and read it himself as there is in listening to and watching his parents enjoy a good book.  P.S. I cried some too when I was writing Shiloh.

 

is shiloh a ficton book or nonficton

i love shiloh its my favriete book in the world i love it im starting to read saving shiloh

It’s fiction, but I began writing it when I came across such a dog in West Virginia and tried to imagine what its story might be.

what is your favorite in Shiloh?

What is your favorite part in Shiloh? My favorite part in Shiloh is when Marty and Judd made the deal and when Judd has a change of heart and gives Marty a old dog collar.

When Marty sticks to his part of the deal and keeps working, finally winning Judd’s respect.

My favorite book is Shiloh

I don’t really have a question per say. I am currently 24 years old. I’m not sure how old I was when I first read Shiloh but I think it was 1st or 2nd grade. Maybe higher. It instantly became my favorite book. I have loved dogs since I can remember and reading a book like that gave me so many emotions as a child. To this day I still consider Shiloh to be my favorite book. It is definitely one of the reasons I started to like reading books. Thank you for sharing your story and for making sequels. I was excited when they made it into a movie as well! Hope you are staying safe! Thanks, Alexa!

I’m so glad to know that the book meant so much to you.  I enjoyed writing every single page.

The Shiloh book

Hi,This is Emma Hendry,
just wondering what made you make the book Shiloh?

We found such a dog in West Virginia and I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

Shiloh favorite part

Hi I’m Brooklynn I’m a forth grader at Kent Prairie school. I really like your book Shiloh. Did you make the other Shiloh books or did someone else? What is you favorite part of the book? My favorite part is when Marty made a deal with Judd.

I wrote all four of the Shiloh books.  My favorite part was in book one, when Judd told Marty that no matter how hard he worked, he wasn’t going to get that dog.  Marty knew nothing more to do than to stick to his side of the bargain, so that’s what he did.  And I think this somehow broke into the hardness of Judd’s heart and started his long turnaround in the community,

How old is Shiloh?

How old is Shiloh?

Clover, the real dog who was the inspiration when we found her in 1988, was about two years old then, the Vet determined, and died in 2000.  So “Shiloh” was fourteen when he (she) died.

the book Shiloh

Hi I am a fourth grader at Kent Prairie Elementary School in Arlington, Washington. I am a huge fan of the book Shiloh it was my favorite book ever. I just wanted to let you know that you did a phenomenal job on that book, and I want to thank you because I loved that book.

Thank you very much.  I had a good time writing it.