Book Review: The Silver Donkey by Sonya Hartnett

By Angela Youngman Jan 13, 2009, 0:36 GMT

A gentle and very sympathetic book, ideal for reading aloud. One spring morning in the woods of France, a soldier blinded on a First World War battlefield is found by a two young girls, Coco and Marcelle.

They befriend him and bring him food, enabling him to return to England. In return, the soldier tells them stories about a donkey; each story is connected to a tiny silver donkey kept for luck in his pocket.

With stories stretching the ages, from the donkey which carried Mary to Bethlehem to a donkey helping to save lives on a battlefield the tales capture the imagination.

Beautifully written with simple shadowy illustrations; this is a book to treasure. It is
imaginative, and thoughtful. War is not shown as glorious - it is shown as sad and useless. You can really feel the tension, the way in which the children strive to understand and help.