SHILOH By:Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

We are all familiar with SHILOH, but I wanted to read it again because it is one of my daughter's favorite books. This Newberry Medal winner is the first in a trilogy of Shiloh books written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This story is based on a real dog, that the author met while visiting relatives in Shiloh, West Virginia. Phyllis Naylor thought the little dog may have been abused and started writing with her as the basis for this book. The dog still lives in Shiloh and although she is a lot older, she is doing great! This story has a lot of deeper issues going on than just an abused dog. It is about family values, alcoholism, abusing animals, life in rural West Virginia, fighting for what you want, and working hard for what you want. Marty, the main character, knows that Shiloh is being abused by his mean neighbor, Judd Travers, who drinks too much and shoots animals whenever he wants to. Marty is determined to rescue Shiloh from Judd, even if means blackmailing him and then having to work off his debt to him. Marty and Shiloh are both scared of Judd, who is so rotten that he names his dogs cuss words or how much he paid for them like "35"or "40," and shoots deers out of season just to do it. Marty comes from a loving and supportive family, with parents that would go to any lengths to protect their children and who genuinely care about what is happening in their children's lives. The other peculiar thing about Judd Travers is that he wants his hunting dogs to be the best and his pick-up truck to always look perfect, probably to hide what is not so perfect about him.
          I have read this book out loud to my daughter and it is difficult as a read aloud. The author likes to use relaxed English, so there is a lot of "ain'ts" and "don'ts" etc. I almost didn't want to read these words to her, especially because the grammar is so bad, but I realized that you do to need to read it just like it is to make it more authentic and real. Marty is lucky in that he knows he can talk to his parents about anything, and at eleven years old, he has a lot of perseverance. I am almost envious of the life the author describes for this family in this rural town. The children are always outside playing on the swing, running in the field or the woods, and playing in the stream. Marty and his friend play "spy" too. Marty wants Shiloh to be his dog, and Judd makes him work off his debt, although Marty is always fearful that Judd will try to keep Shiloh anyway. In the end, Marty does work off his debt to Judd and he tries very hard to be his friend.......so now I need to read Shiloh Season to see what happens next.
           Phyllis Naylor has written over 100 books including the Shiloh trilogy and she lives in Bethesda, MD. Shiloh is now available on DVD.

Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

         Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite writers and I knew I would choose one of his poetry books for this particular blog. In addition to Falling Up, Silverstein has written other books of poetry such as: The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic. Shel Silversteins' poetry is for children of all ages, but it does have a lot of hidden underlying meaning. Some of his poems are short and some are long. All are illustrated by him and are black and white drawings which are rudimentary; however, they can make you laugh and usually give you a good visual for the poem itself. One of his poems in Falling Up is very short: Stupid Pencil Maker:  Some dummy built this pencil wrong--The eraser's down here where the point belongs. And the point's at the top--so it's no good to me. Its amazing how stupid some people can be.  Can't you see a second or third grader thinking this about a pencil? Notice how it rhymes too.

      Some of his poems are a page or two long and deal with subjects like  "garbage," "diving boards," and "spoiled brats." Young children and adults can all relate to a poem written by Shel Silverstein. One entitled "The Nap Taker" is two pages long and rhymes all the way through......"I did not take that nap." I cried. "I give my solemn vow, And if I took it by mistake I do not have it now." This poem is a play on words about someone "taking a nap." Most of Silverstein's poems are written like this and are really written to connect with children and what they may be thinking about something, but might be too shy to say out loud. The front cover of all his books depicts what the artwork will look like through out the books. Falling Up and all of his other books can be used as a book to read to the class for fun or for a unit on poetry, how to write and illustrate poetry, and to learn more vocabulary words through a rhyming pattern. Shel Silverstein passed away in 1999 but is still remembered today as one of the great children's authors.

I still read his poetry for enjoyment for myself and for my own children. All teachers should have a Shel Silverstein book of poems!!!!