Editorial Review

When 11-year-old Marty Preston chances upon a mistreated beagle pup in his hometown of Friendly, West Virginia, he is not prepared for the ethical questions he has to face. Should he return the dog to its owner, only to have the animal abused again? Should he tell his parents? Should he steal food to help the poor creature? Marty's efforts to cope with these questions provides the moral backbone for this story, which is presented in a language and manner that will be understood by third- and fourth-grade readers. The heart and beauty of this 1992 Newbery Medal winner lies in lessons children will take away with them. ... Read more

Reviews (271)

Well Deserved Newbery Winner,But Some Reservations
Shiloh is the winner of the 1992 Newbery Medal, and it tells the story of Marty Preston, an 11-year-old boy, and his efforts to rescue a mistreated beagle, Shiloh. Though Marty believes Shiloh came to him for help, his father makes it clear that he must not interfere in their neighbor's business, even if that neighbor is Judd Travers, a thoroughly unlikable man who abuses his dogs. When Shiloh comes to him a second time though, Marty has to choose between his love for Shiloh or obedience to his father. Though I had to do some minor editing while reading aloud to my preschool-aged children, this is a very engaging story full of struggle, devotion, and suspense that had my son (and hubby) begging for more.Naylor expertly reeled us in from the first chapter as we got wrapped up in Marty's concern for Shiloh and she kept us expectantly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Eleven-year-old Marty lives with his parents and two younger sisters just above Friendly, West Virginia. Marty finds a dog and he is convinced that the dog is abused by its owner. He wants to keep Shiloh, but he has to strike a deal with Shiloh's owner, Judd Travers.
A Beagle story review by Zachary in AK
Shiloh is one of the first books that I read and finished. Before reading it, I didn't really like to read. But after reading it, I wanted the rest of the series because I just had to know what happend next.
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Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Animals - Dogs    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Classics    6. Dogs    7. Family - General    8. Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    11. Treatment    12. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs   

Reviews (3)

A calm and lovely view of Appalachia
Author Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Barry Moser were both reared in Appalachia, and they are completely in sync on this book.The calm, clear-eyed text and the evocative watercolor paintings balance and enhance each other beautifully. Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds
Cynthia Rylant has once again captured the true spirit of the Appalachian culture. Her descriptions are right on target. Many of us, who live in this wild and wonderful country, know folks just like those she introduces to us in all of her stories. The significance of this book, for me, is to keep alive the warm, wonderful spirit of this amazing culture she so colorfully shares with readers. I'm giving this book to children and adults as well.

A Different World!
This book is wonderful!I read it to my class to help them understand what life was like in the Appalachian Mountains compared to their life in Chicago.My students were spell-bound, held by the wonderful descriptionsand beautiful illustrations.They really understood that there are manydifferent cultures within our nation! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Birds    2. Appalachian Region, Southern    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Description and travel    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. People & Places - United States    9. Social life and customs    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / People & Places / United States   

Reviews (2)

Make sure your child is familiar with all the classic stories first or this story will be lost on them...
My young child didn't have a clue what this book was about.Beyond that, this story is just not my style. The troll in the book talks like this, " You need a reality check, junior" or "I want my money you four-legged buttinskis" or "Just show me the money". This book is quite a bit too contemporary in heart and style for my taste.

clever and funny story
This book is a riot ~ my 6yr old and I loved this book. It mixes several popular fairy tales into one and is a gem for a children's library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Characters in literature    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 1-2    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Humorous Retelling    7. Fiction    8. General    9. Humorous Stories    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Preschool Picture Story Books    12. Juvenile Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Single Title   

Reviews (3)

Depressing story for a child
I bought about 50 children's books online recently and 'What You Know First' is by far my least favorite. The story is depressing and the black and white pictures are dreary. I usually love all children's books, so I would not give a book 1 star unless I absolutely felt it was necessary. I would not purchase this book again.

I haven't forgotten what I knew first
For any of you who have left home..what you knew first..this book will deeply touch you.As I read this in the bookstore, tears came to my eyes.It's a story of a little girl who struggles to understand why she and her family must leave the only place they know.Though change has its sadness,this book shows the sweetness of memories you take with you forever.This is a good book for a child going through such a change or for an adult who still recalls all those familiar things of home.

Sweet, beautiful story of a child facing change
I love this book for the way the illustrations and story compliment each other so well.The story narrated by a small child facing the prospect of moving to a new home is achingly beautiful.You can feel the child's painand anxiety about moving to a new place and being afraid of forgetting theold place and the memories therein.The child tells about all the thingsshe will miss and then devises a plan to stay and not go with her familyand baby brother.It is a story for anyone who has ever had to face apainful change in his or her life.I could read it again and again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Preschool    3. Country life    4. Family - Multigenerational    5. Farm life    6. Fiction    7. Lifestyles - Farm Life & Ranch Life    8. Moving, Household    9. Social Issues - New Experience    10. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Multigenerational    11. Picture books   

Reviews (1)

Inspirational
This book is such a treasure for children and adults as well.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Inspirational    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Children: Kindergarten    5. Conduct of life    6. Juvenile Folk Tales / Mythology / Fables    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile Social Problems (General)    9. Literary Criticism & Collections    10. Literary collections    11. Quotations, maxims, etc    12. Religion - Inspirational    13. Social Issues - Values & Virtues    14. Social Science - Folklore & Mythology    15. Social Situations - Values    16. Juvenile Fiction / People & Places / General   

Subjects:  1. Children's All Ages    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. General    5. Horror & Ghost Stories    6. Horror / Ghost Stories (Young Adult)    7. Horror stories    8. Horror stories, American    9. Horror stories, English    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Short Stories    12. Short Story Collections (Young Adult)    13. Fiction    14. Juvenile Fiction / Short Stories   

Reviews (6)

A comment on reading levels
It says quite clearly that this book is for grades 6 and up. I believe it also says ages 12 and up in another section, but I think where people get really confused (and I have seen this many times on Amazon) is where further down it says "ages 4-8".
This is good for much younger children.
This book works well as a read-aloud for as young as preschool age.The illustrations are very exceptional.My favorite is the painting of "Woman" on page 6.

Good Introduction to World Mythology
A previous reviewer said that s/he couldn't understand why this was listed as a children's book.All I can say is that while I would love to think our first grader is a genius, he lets us know when a story is over his head.When it's a little too hard, he'll ask questions.When it's a lot too hard, he'll give up and let his attention wander.He asks questions occasionally with this book, but he'll ask for me to read the next one about half of the time too.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Creation    4. Folklore    5. Mythology    6. Religion - General    7. Social Science - Folklore & Mythology    8. Juvenile Nonfiction / Social Science / Folklore & Mythology   

Reviews (28)

More pics, please
My children so loved the Rikki Tikki Tavi video--based on a Kipling video--that I wanted to find other Kipling stories on tape (besides the Jungle Book). I wasn't successful, but I found many different editions of Just So Stories. It was hard to choose!
Great Book
It's a nice budget edition of the famous book with sophisticated authors' illustrations.

Delightfully funny
Kipling did an excellent job in compliling and communicating these stories.I thoroughly enjoyed each story, with the exception of the one about how writing was invented, which seemed a bit boring to me.
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Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children's stories, English    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Classics    6. Fiction    7. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    8. Short stories    9. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / General   

Reviews (4)

SweetKitty!
Whether you're teaching your kids to tell time or not, this book is so charming!The illustrations are beautiful, and perfectly capture the lazy/hungry/cuddly nature of cats.It works as a picture book for younger children, with not too many words on a page, and I imagine it would be a good teaching tool as well.

Cat lovers delight
This pleasantly simple picturebook features a nicely illustrated cat who describes her day.A foldout moveable clock allows children to match thehands of the clock with the time of day being described by Mother Cat. Thepictures are soothing and the work is both comforting and fun.

A cat lovers' book
We purchased this book for our two and three-year-old daughters as a way of introducing math concepts through literature.The concept of time passing is told firsthand by the cat as we travel with her throughout theday. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Cats    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Clocks and watches    5. Concepts - Time    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Specimens    9. Time    10. Toy and movable books    11. Toys, Dolls, & Puppets    12. Juvenile Fiction / Concepts / Time   

Editorial Review

In a follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning story Read more

Reviews (40)

Good Sequel, Some Reservations
Shiloh Season is the second book in the Shiloh Trilogy. In this ongoing saga, 11-year-old Marty must face some of the consequences of past decisions, particularly the secret of how he managed to "buy" his beagle Shiloh from Judd Travers, his previous owner. Just when we thought Marty's fears about Shiloh's well-being were over, Judd begins to drink heavily and is displaying erratic behavior which causes Marty to once again fear for Shiloh's safety, as well as his own. Marty faces some difficult decisions again, as well as showing maturity as he wrestles with needing to protect Shiloh and wanting to find out if it's possible to teach kindness to someone who has never known it.
Shiloh Season
This book is a good one.I liked it a lot.It was very doown to earth. It is kind of like a real storie but it is not.I really liked Shiloh the dog.
A GREAT BOOK
I like this book because it is like a life of someone else its about a boy who is trying save his dog from Judd Travers who is tring to take Shiloh away he accuses Martys dad of getting his dogs taken away so he wouldnt get to go hunting so Judd wants to take Shiloh hunting with him but Marty wont let him but Judd starts get him then Martys dad jumps up and says you cant take him. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Animals - Dogs    4. Animals - Pets    5. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    6. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    7. Children: Grades 4-6    8. Dogs    9. Fiction    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Kindness    12. Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    13. Social Situations - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    14. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance   

Reviews (1)

A collaboration between Barry Moser and his granddaughter!
I admit right up front to being a complete sucker for Barry Moser's astonishing artwork, so you can imagine my delight when I found that Moser had not only illustrated "Our New Puppy," but that he had collaborated on it with his granddaughter, Isabelle Harper!Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8    2. Children's writings    3. Children's writings, American    4. Children: Grades 1-2    5. Dogs    6. Fiction    7. General   

Editorial Review

Tina Packer, President and Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company theater and theater education group, brings ten of Shakespeare's most popular works to (abbreviated) life in this big, gorgeous hardcover volume. She retells the plays in a coherent style, incorporating paraphrases of some of the better-known lines for authentic flavor: "Is this a dagger which I see before me…" (Read more

Reviews (2)

Tales from Shakespeare
Absolutely beautiful! Stunning illustrations and accessible retellings of Shakespeare's most beloved plays.An excellent early introduction for children and a wonderful edition for anyone who cherishes Shakespeare.

Good Interpretaion for kids.
I was happy that there is something available for kids that would introduce them to Shakespeare.However, I still had to use my own words even for narrative.You really can't do much about Shakespeare's words and you would not want to, but the narrative and other explanations should have been made easier to read.They read more like narratives for operas with "dote", "sprite", "vowed", "disdainful", "enarmored", "braying", "loathsome" etc all over the place.
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Subjects:  1. 1564-1616    2. Adaptations    3. Children's 9-12 - Plays / Drama    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    5. Children: Grades 3-4    6. Drama    7. Juvenile Drama    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Shakespeare, William,    11. Stories, plots, etc.    12. English literature: Shakespeare texts    13. Juvenile Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (1)

Barry Moser's (almost slightly) Gothic Oz Illustrations
This book has been around since 1986 and still no-one has written a review about it?!Well, this is the 1986 Pennyroyal Press Edition with 62 illustrations by Barry Moser, which is mentioned several times in "the Annotated Wizard of Oz" book.Barry Moser's almost-photographic pencil drawings are described as looking like wood-gravings (Look for 4 samples of his pictures in Google Images).Barry Moser draws the story of 'the Wizard' with pictures never tried before, but there are a few pictures that have been drawn similar before, but he certainly old characters like the King of the Winged Monkeys, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Winkies like never before.All the pictures are in a portrait style, looking at somebody's face/figure or a landscape of nature and are all in black-and-white, occasionally with stripes in the background and most areas. He has the Gale family look Australian (Aunt Em and Uncle Henry more like an African) and the Silver Shoes are more like sandals.however, some pictures are a bit of a disappointment, like Glinda and the melting Witch.Barry Moser has the Wizard of Oz modelled after (then) Precident Ronald Reagan and the his wife - Nancy Reagan - as teh model for the Wicked Witch of the West, but the Good Witch of the North looks good, possibly what Adderpele looked like in the 1975 "Wiz" Stage - but it's just a guess.glinda doesn't really look beautiful, and the Wicked Witch doesn't really look that menacing or scary, and some pictures - mostly during the forests are very difficult to make out and can strain your eyes if you focus on it a lot.Just about anybody (who is human in the story) has their face covered in shadow, so we don't exactly see what they look like.Unfortunatley, we don't see any part of the Emerald City except the Soldier (Omby Amby), the Guardian, the Wizard's forms and the Gates to the City.
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Subjects:  1. 19th Century American Novel And Short Story    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Fantasy    4. Illustration Of Books    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism   

Reviews (3)

hard to find but well worth it -- a look at the "creation myth" we may not think of as a myth
I never understood why we term these stories "creation myths" - since to those who believe, it's not a myth.And those who don't believe might be wrong!But, anyway, this would be a good story to add to a unit on tales of the creation of the world, since it deals with the Christian seven days of creation.The word God isn't mentioned until the final page, the action centers around a young artist and dreamer who is inspired to create the beautiful things he sees in his mind.He works slowly, and takes his time, finding joy in the beauty around him.At the end, he chooses to make some people he can share all his work with, someone he can really talk to.And they make children, and those children make more children, and so on.This is beautifully illustrated and a very quiet calm book which would inspire any child to feel loved.

A must for kids of ALL ages!
A soothing tale of creation from a perspective even a two year old can understand.

Breath-takingly beautiful book!
This was one of the first books I was "wowed" by when I began doing children's programming about five years ago.The story is a beautiful creation story, explaining how the world and all the wonders in it came to be.But the art work is spectacular!Moser's illustrations and Rylant's words make for an unbeatable combination.A definite addition to any Church library, but also for anyone who wishes to share the beauty of the Christian creation story with children. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artists    2. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Creation    5. Dreams    6. Fiction    7. Preschool Picture Story Books    8. Religion - General    9. Rylant, Cynthia   

Reviews (4)

If you hum a few bars, I can fake it.
If you or I were to find a tiny hummingbird nest in our backyard, we would handle such a discovery in any variety of ways.Some people would probably set up a camera and create a 24-hr live feed to their website.Others would ignore the nest or, worse still, actively remove it due to some odd hummingbird-based-delusion that the creatures were pests.When author Kristine O'Connell George found her nest, she came up with a particularly original way of marking the event.She kept a steady journal and, when all was said and done, she turned that journal into poetry.And she turned that poetry into a book.And that book was illustrated by the all-too-accomplished Barry Moser.And as a result, children's librarians everywhere have the honor of carrying "Hummingbird Nest" on their shelves, ready to be taken out by any inquisitive child with a yen for tiny birdies.Neither you nor I might go this route, but then neither you nor I would have such a fine title to our name.Such is life.
A jewel of a book....
This book is a tender treasure of hummingbird experiences through the wide-open eyes of a family entranced and the pen of a noted writer clearly in love with her subject.
For hummingbird lovers of all ages
As a reading specialist I regularly review new children's books.As soon as I saw this one, I thought of my mom.She's a sharp-minded 87-year-old who loves poetry, art and hummingbirds.She gives the artistry, both words and watercolors, of this book an easy five stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Birds    2. Children's 4-8 - Poetry / Plays    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Fiction    6. Hummingbirds    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile Poetry    9. Juvenile fiction    10. Poetry - General    11. Stories in rhyme    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / Poetry / General   

Reviews (2)

A rare treasure in a book, a story to help deal with grief
There aren't too many picture books or stories for children that deal so well with the issues of grieving and healing and the questions about life after someone you love has died.This book gently tells, in story and fable, the healing words of how to carry on and what it is to live, and why we need to remember.Any parent or child old enough to understand death can take comfort and healing from this story.I wish I had a hundred copies of this to give to all of my friends who have lost someone.In the traditions of ANNIE AND THE OLD ONE, and THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY this is another work that deals with death, life, and those who must deal with the questions that surround them.

Written and Drawn
I believe this book was incredibly well done. The story is great and the illustrations INCREDIBLE. Barry Moser did an incredible job with the illustrations. I really do recommend this book to everyone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Death    4. Fairy tales    5. Fiction    6. General    7. Moser, Barry    8. Preschool Folk Tales   

Reviews (1)

Moses
Margaret Hodges and Barry Moser's new book is a stately, dignified presentation of highlights from the life of the great leader of the Hebrew people.The 9" X 12" cover shows Moses as a mature shepherd, draped in desert clothing, holding a lamb and grasping his staff against a black background.The stasis of this illustration is typical of Moser's handsome artwork in this book. Unfortunately, it does not contribute to making the dignified and restrained narrative very exciting. The life of Moses as the Torah narrates it, is a story of an intense, dynamic man, who hated injustice, and who, with all his faults, was chosen to hear the voice of God, and lead the Hebrews out of bondage.His life and death provide rich material.However, turning this into an involving narrative is rare, evidenced by the few picture books about Moses. (An exception is Mordecai Gerstein's Shadow of a Flying Bird.) Though there is no fault with this well made book, there is no fire. It is about Moses, but does not seem to be our Moses, Moshe Rabeinu, for whom Jews feel warmth, and closeness. Jewish readers will appreciate the beauty of the illustrations more than the text. For ages 7 to 12.Reviewed by Naomi Morse ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (Biblical leader)    2. Bible    3. Bible stories    4. Bible stories, English    5. Biography & Autobiography - Religious    6. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    7. Children: Grades 1-2    8. Children: Grades 4-6    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile Religion    11. Juvenile literature    12. Moses    13. O.T    14. O.T. Pentateuch    15. Religion - Bible - Biography    16. Religion - Bible - Stories    17. Juvenile Nonfiction / Religion / Judaism   

Reviews (4)

big dog lover
If you love big dogs, you will love this book.The pictures are perfect.Each page I turned I saw our own dogs, even though they are not mastifs,(we have newfoundlands,) it was my dog's expressions on Truman.Simple easy text. If you want to know what it is like to live with big dogs, or you have a large breed dog and you want a smile and a cute childrens book (my girls are 2 and 3,) this book is for you.

Gentle giant
Our family LOVES this book! My son chooses it almost every night!We have a mastiff and he's our gentle giant!When we read the book we fill in Juba's name for Truman.The kids get a kick out of that.Just like Truman, Juba gets yelled at cuz he's always in the way, or knocking the kids over with his tail or drooling on us.I think that he wishes he were a little dog!You will be glad you purchased this book, even if you don't have a mastiff

Wonderful for Kids and Big Dog Owners
Loved the book, so did my little girl (2) it reminded the whole family of our deceased Mastiff.She had the exact same expressions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Dogs    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Babies & Toddlers    4. Dogs    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Social Issues - Friendship    8. Social Issues - Manners & Etiquette    9. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs   

Editorial Review

Forced to leave her sunny Caribbean home for the bleak Connecticut Colony, Kit Tyler is filled with trepidation. As they sail up the river to Kit's new home, the teasing and moodiness of a young sailor named Nat doesn't help. Still, her unsinkable spirit soon bobs back up. What this spirited teenager doesn't count on, however, is how her aunt and uncle's stern Puritan community will view her. In the colonies of 1687, a girl who swims, wears silk and satin gowns, and talks back to her elders is not only headstrong, she is in grave danger of being regarded as a witch. When Kit befriends an old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, it is more than the ascetics can take: soon Kit is defending her life. Who can she count on as she confronts these angry and suspicious townspeople? Read more

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (356)

A bewitching story
This is one of my favorite books. I first read this book while in middle school and have re-read it so many times that I can recite some of the passages! The story of the girl who leaves her island home and must adjust to the harsh New England environment struck a chord with me, as I was a military kid and always moving from place to place. This story is about a girl who finds herself in a new environment that goes against everything she has ever learned or experienced, and she must learn who she is in order to survive this new land. It's also a romance story, and an intriguing story that shows what can happen when people become so closed-minded about what is "right" and "proper" that they refuse to look past a person's supposed subversive actions in order to really see or understand that person.Highly recommended reading.

Good historical fiction...
I wanted to give this book 3 1/2 stars, but I don't think you can... Oh Well!!!
the witch of blackbird pond-elizabeth george spheare- by andra prior
I read the witch of blackbird pond.I didnt like or dislike this book.It had fantastic chapters an awful chapters. The most awfu scenes in this book are where everyone gets judgemental. The overall message in this book wasshard to figure out but i thought it was: never let someone judge you for who you appear to be.I would recomend this book to people who like adventurous historical fiction books. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Classics    4. Connecticut    5. Fiction    6. Historical - United States - Colonial    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Prejudices    9. Puritans    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Friendship    12. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    13. Witchcraft    14. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / United States / Colonial & Revolutionary Periods   

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    2. Children: Kindergarten    3. Christmas    4. Fiction    5. Gifts    6. Holidays & Festivals - Christmas