Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, is a Newberry Award winning classic novel about a boy and his dog. Marty Travers lives in rural West Virginia with his parents and two sisters. The family is close-knit, but struggle financially. Marty longs for a dog of his own, but his parents won't allow it, due to the cost involved. Shiloh is a hunting dog owned by cruel Judd Travers, who has a pack of dogs that he treats very poorly. Marty and Shiloh find each other, and Marty becomes committed to protecting Shiloh from Judd Travers, even if it means deceiving those he loves and respects most: his family and friends.

Shiloh raises a lot of great talking points with students regarding honesty, poverty, family relationships, and bravery. The book is rich with the opportunity to discuss setting, plot, vocabulary, metaphors, and characterization, and is laid out in a way that is very accessible to both teachers creating a lesson plan and to students. There are plenty of great "cliff-hangers" at the end of each chapter, which will keep your students excited about coming back for more. I highly recommend this book for your 3rd and 4th grade students. Many of them will be able to read it on their own, but they will get much benefit from reading and discussing as a class. Lesson plans can be found here. The book is also available to students at RIF.