Shiloh

This Newbery Medal winner tells the simple story of Marty Preston, who rescues a maltreated beagle - Shiloh - from the hands of the notoriously ill-tempered Judd Travers. Marty keeps the dog secretly but then realises he must confront his own dishonesty and barters his time working for Judd in order to possess the dog. What's so striking about this book is its refusal to take an easy path and its power in revealing that cruelty to human beings is as deep-seated as that to animals.