Jornal Entry 6

Shiloh

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

I stumbled upon Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor a few days ago and decided to read it, not really knowing what it was about. I obviously recognized the title, but surprisingly I had never read it in my childhood. When several friends noticed me reading it, they all reacted the same way - "aww, I love Shiloh. Such a good book". Most were also surprised that I had never read it before. I think that somewhere between switching schools I must have missed it. Another surprising thing I noticed was that they all seemed to have read it in different grades. As I got further into the book, I began to worry that Shiloh was a little mature for elementary aged children. Therefore I began asking friends what grade they were in when they had read it. Most of my friends did say grades 4-5 but I also had a friend tell me he had read it as a class in grade 8 and one who had read it in grade 7. I was beginning to get confused and still wondered if it was an appropriate book for young readers. It definitely wasn't the vocabulary itself that was bothering me - rather the mature content within. After some thought, here's what I personally believe about the matter:



I think that Shiloh is a magnificently written novel that children in elementary (ages 8-10) should definitely read. Maturity and developmental level are factors to consider when suggesting books for children to read. Some children may be ready to read Shiloh earlier than others, as it can be emotional. With regards to the storyline, it is sad in parts, but it is a realistic situation with a consistently hopeful tone. Children probably don't need to be as "protected" as we may think. Animal abuse is a real issue and children should be aware of real issues in the world (at at time when they are intellectually ready). Shiloh is written for children with a RL of 4.4, and has a happy ending, so while I was a little worried about the content at first, I think children deserve more credit for comprehension than we sometimes give them credit for. Part of what makes this book so great is that Naylor has presented a mature and controversial topic in an appropriate way so that children can read it without it being too harsh. I love that she appreciates children's intelligence and trusts them to be able to read it maturely.

The story takes place in West Virginia and I love the way the language represents the southern state. An important element of realistic fiction is ensuring the language and syntax properly represent the characters and situations within the book. I can safely say that the language in Shiloh remains constant throughout. I enjoyed how "mom" became "ma", how "get" became "git" and how most "ing" endings resulted in the "g" being left off. Example: "your dog come over here twice because you been mistreatin' it" (Pg. 110). Don't you just want to say it out loud? It was such a fun book to read, because even when reading it silently, you constantly "hear" the "twang" of the words and want to say them out loud. I think children would have fun reading this type of text, after all who doesn't like speaking in accents?

My favorite part of the book (and most memorale for me) was watching Marty struggle between what is right and wrong. Society values honestly and telling the truth, while lying is a big no-no.  I loved watching Marty mature and grow as a character. Marty began to realize that sometimes the line between right and wrong can be blurred and sometimes situations aren't as black and white as they are when we are little. Marty knew that lying about hiding Shiloh away was wrong, but returning Shiloh to be hurt again couldn't be right. He also knew that politeness was socially valuable in his town and the "right" thing to do was to "stay out of others' business" but how could that be "right" when animals were being hurt? Marty had to learn to follow his heart and to do what was best for him. It reminded me of one of Shel Silvertstein's poems that I have highlighted in an earlier journal entry. The poem is:

There is a voice inside of you

That whispers all day long,

"I feel this is right for me,

I know that this is wrong."

No teacher, preacher, parent, friend

Or wise man can decide

What's right for you--just listen to

The voice that speaks inside."

                                                 — Shel Silverstein

I connected with Marty because I can remember being a child and being told what was wrong and what was right. Adults made every situation seem either black or white. Cheating was wrong, lying was wrong, helping others was right, sharing was right.. and so on. But I can also recall times when those paths crossed and decisions weren't as easy as "right and wrong" anymore. I remember times when I've lied to protect someone's feelings, and times when I've questioned the law and society's values and what they believe to be "right". Shiloh helps us realize that sometimes the values of society can be wrong. Sometimes we have a "turn a blind eye" attitude where people would rather pretend they don't see things than risk standing out and making a fuss. How can that be right?

Of course, Shiloh isn't going to make every nine year old question "societal values" but it may get them thinking about right and wrong. I genuinely enjoyed reading Shiloh and can completely understand why some Jr. High teachers may choose to read it to their class. The themes run deep and whether older or younger, most children will take something meaningful away from reading it.