Customer Reviews

The Silver Donkey

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4 star:		(3)
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A very well written tale, I was first attracted to this book by is very classic looking cover. It has its own little built in ribbon bookmark, so it already is a very attractive book. The story, two little french girls find a blind english soilder who has had to leave the war. He is blind and trying to get home. At first he is just a fun secret for the little girls to have to themselves, though they are always trying to help him (their father's second best razor, alot of food from the pantry, etc)

He has one posession that, Coco, the younger of the two finds especially appealing, a very small silver donkey. Each day as the girls help him he tells them a story that involves a donkey essentially as the hero, each of them has a sort of bitter sweet twist to them (there are four total).

Its a very well written story, Hartnett's prose has a lyricalness to it and the illustrations on the inside are very fitting, they appear to be rendered in charcoal, so they are black and white, very sketchy looking. One is amazing, it is of the two sisters and their brother walking along the edge of a dock, all of them balancing with their arms out. The image is perfectly in time with the text.

This would be a good holiday gift to a child (no younger than 3rd grade I'd say, probably 5th)--as it does have some war time issues in it (WW2) I can see this as a Hallmark Holiday movie if they were so inclined, it has that sort of mood to it.

Two sisters from a French seaside town find a drifting soldier during World War I. Marcelle and Coco are fascinated with the blind Englishman and his good luck charm, a little silver donkey. Lieutenant Shepard has wonderful stories to tell about heroic donkeys, and the girls hang on every tale. Soon, their brother finds out, and he gets a friend to help plan the soldier's way home across the Channel.

Knowing that the adults can never learn of the soldier's presence, the children take care of "their" soldier until he can leave. In return, they learn about courage and loyalty--lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Sonya Hartnett has woven a charming story in the tradition of classic children's literature. Using gentle language, she relates the soldier's experience in ways that will leave no doubt that war is horrible, without scarring her young readers. The children are portrayed with a very real sense of wonderment, curiosity, and innocent sense of right and wrong.

Reading THE SILVER DONKEY evokes a feeling reminiscent of THE SECRET GARDEN and other such children's stories from the early 1900s. As time passes, Hartnett is sure to be as recognized as Burnett.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer

11/08/2006

A few of us inaugurated a book club for 3rd grade girls with this story and it was a great start for us.

This story is beautifully written and has many layers, it was great for the adults and interesting enough for the girls, despite the backdrop of a war and subject matter that is difficult for young people to relate to: should you stay and fight in a war that has depleted you and made you question why you are there and hurt your psyche badly or go home to your family?

There were a lot of unanswered questions at the end of our discussion. Who did the donkey represent? Did Lieutenant get home? Was John real or made up? What significance was the beetle in the end?

Even though we didn't have clear answers, the girls were satisfied with the questions and were inspired to keep reading. All in all, a very good story to read with and explain to a child under 12. 13 and older can probably understand the subject matter and get more depth from it without a parent's input.

This book is beautifully written, whimsical, as well as touching and folorn. Children and adults will love to read this one aloud together. The author does a masterful job of creating a poignant and believable story told in a fable- or fairytale-like style. I highly recommend this book, and I would also recommend the hard-cover edition with the embossed silver donkey on the cover. It is lovely, well-crafted, and a joy to hold and read. I believe this edition best matches the style of the book. I am convinced you will want to read this one again and again. Happy Reading!

Australian author Sonya Hartnett's writing is, as usual, remarkable. The art by Don Powers is fabulous. Like the tiny silver donkey in this parable I found that this book "twinkled and glimmered" in my hand. Not only for children, adults will love this book too.

My husband read this to our four younger children (ages 5, 7, 9, 11) just before Christmas. They all greatly enjoyed this sweet book that ties together several different stories with the donkey as the key focus. It has lessons on humility, sacrifice, and other positive character traits. While it can be a book for any time of year, I would particularly recommend it as a holiday book since it shares a version of the Christmas story.

Sonya Haskins

www.thehomeschooladvocate.com

This simple story is filled with amazing Christian allegories. Great for the Christmas season. Yes, Virginia, there is a reason to believe in bravery and truth! One warning, the story, although not especially violent or gory, my be tough for families with an immediate family member deployed or ready for deployment as one of the main characters, an escaping soldier relives some of the horrors of war. If your family is not in that situation, gather all around for a great read aloud that will have meaning for all ages.

Although touchingly illustrated and masterfully written, this story might be troubling to some. The protagonist is a lieutenant who has deserted the military after all his men have been killed. The military commanders above him are portrayed as insensitive, uncaring men who send soldiers out to battle without a thought about their safety. Although this may be true in some cases, I don't think that this is a fair generalization to pass on to children ages 9-12. However, if you are a strict pacifist, and think it your duty to pass on this ideology to your children, then this is the book for you. Here is a sample from page 143, "Lieutenant Shepard's men were tough, smart, fast and brave, too good to waste: but wasted they were, as the lieutenant knew they would be, for war is only waste." However, if you believe that some wars, ugly as they may be, must be fought for just causes, and that walking away does not always solve problems, then you might look for another book.

I bought this book for my granddaughter a couple of years ago and she said it was the best book she had read. Unfortunately, she handed out to a friend and never got it back, so I ordered her another one because she always talks about how great this book was.

The book arrived quickly and in good condition. However, there was no dust jacket and that minor fact was omitted in the description of the book...