The setting is rural France during World War I, and the man in the woods is…an English soldier fleeing "the unspeakable trenches." He is also blind, a fact that fascinates the girls almost as much as the tiny silver donkey that "twinkled and glimmered" in his hand. They and their brother take care of him, and he, in return, tells them the tales of four donkeys, including the one that once carried a woman to Bethlehem. The small beasts become the book's quiet heroes, emblems of patience, trustworthiness and bravery. Self-centered Marcelle, Coco and Pascal don't remotely become saints—the emotionally fastidious Hartnett appears to be incapable of writing a sentimental sentence&151;but one closes the book sure that they have in some vague way been blessed by these revelations of the donkey's "peaceful grace." Certainly, that is an apt description of Hartnett's lapidary style.
—The Washington Post
Hartnett's (Surrender) latest offering, set in France during the Great War, is at once delicately told and deeply resonant. When two sisters, eight-year-old Coco and 10-year-old Marcelle, discover a blind and hungry soldier in the woods, they befriend him, bringing blankets and bits of food that can be pilfered from their meager pantry. The girls are delighted with their secret soldier, and Coco is particularly enchanted with his good luck charm, a silver donkey. They are reluctant to tell anyone about this unhappy man in the forest until they realize they alone cannot help him return to his home across the channel-his one desire after all he has seen in the war. They enlist the help of their older brother, Pascal, whom they believe is clever enough to hatch a plan. In turn, the soldier tells the children allegorical tales about honesty, loyalty, courage and kindness drawn from the Bible, folklore and his own life-all featuring a donkey. Though Pascal yearns to hear about the "riveting adventures from the war," the soldier's story of a donkey's sacrifice and goodness in battle conveys a wholly different message. The novel's nostalgic tone evokes the period but also delivers a timely message. This tender fable of peace will linger with both younger and older readers. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Gr 4-6-A lieutenant walks away from a battle in France during World War I. Tired of the fighting and unable to see, he wants to return home to England. Two French sisters living near the English Channel find him and provide him with food and other supplies. The girls quickly realize that caring for the soldier is more than they can handle and involve their brother and his friend. As the days pass and the boys work on a plan to help the man across the channel, the soldier shows the children a small good-luck charm in the shape of a donkey. During the course of the book, he tells them four tales about the creature, the first one being a version of the Christmas Story. Gradually, readers learn that the soldier is not blind, but that he has closed his eyes to the violence around him. This is a charming book in many ways. In spite of its setting, it's a gentle story that introspective readers will find satisfying.-Jane G. Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Marcelle and Coco, "two skinny, flash-eyed little girls, wild as kittens born under stables," aged ten and eight respectively, discover a blind British soldier, an army deserter, in the woods near their French village. It's WWI, and Lieutenant Shepard has not come out of the war with all his faculties intact. Hartnett's timely, haunting depiction of the grimness and waste of war, her piercing exploration of moral issues such as bravery verses cowardice and the importance of truth are curiously, though effectively, juxtaposed with an old-fashioned children's story. The girls and their 13-year-old brother secretly bring the soldier food and supplies, and, in spite of the danger, are determined to help him cross the Channel and return home. The Lieutenant's good-luck charm, a small silver donkey symbolizing different things to each character, is at the hub of this hard-to-define yet exquisitely written fable. Ostensibly a gift from his ailing little brother, it inspires the telling of four allegorical tales all of which feature clever, reliable, self-sacrificing donkeys. Thirteen quietly evocative black-and-white pencil illustrations complement the text. Hartnett's powerful imagery and her inimitable deftness with language lift this multi-genre work high off the ground. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
"Who's there?" cried the man, and then repeated it in a language that the sisters understood. "Qui est là? Who's there?"
He looked toward Marcelle and Coco and must have seen two skinny, flash-eyed little girls, wild as kittens born under stables, the taller dressed in her brother's hand-me-downs, the smaller rumpled as a street urchin - but then he looked to the moldery soil and up into the trees, and behind himself toward the distant sea. . . . He scrambled backward in the dirt, covering his knees in mud. "Who is there?" he asked again.
Marcelle and Coco stared. . . . "It's just us," said Marcelle. "No one else."
The man stopped scrabbling and became very still. . . . "I can't see you," he said nervously. "I'm blind. Who are you?"
. . . The girls, emboldened, peered more closely at their discovery, stepping from the shadows like fawns. They saw that the man had untidy brown hair and that his face was rather dirty. Coco, who had a sparrow's quick eyes, saw that he held something silver and enticing in his palm, something that twinkled and gleamed. . . . "I'm Marcelle," she told him. "I'm ten. This is my sister, Coco. She's eight. Her real name is Thérèse, but everybody calls her Coco."
. . . "Are you a soldier?" asked Coco unexpectedly.
The man hunkered against the tree. "Why do you ask that?"
"Well, you are a bit like a solider. You have a soldier's blanket and a soldiers' boots. And once there were soldiers who slept a night in our village and they spoke in a funny way, the same way you do."
"It's called an accent," said Marcelle with superiority.
The man was fidgeting, casting his blind gaze about. The fascinating silver thing remained closed in his hand, gleamy as a fishhook, hidden as a jewel. He said, "I am a solider - well, I used to be. I'm not one anymore."
_______
THE SILVER DONKEY by Sonya Hartnett. Copyright © 2006 by Sonya Hartnett. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA."THE SILVER DONKEY is a testament to bravery, loyalty, and sacrifice. The collection of intriguing tales provides a gentle but unflinching look at the horrors of war as well as the power of innocence. " — Jimmy Carter — Jimmy Carter
In the war-torn French countryside, two young sisters are enthralled when they find a blind soldier who carries with him a tiny silver donkey. Narrator Richard Aspel beautifully captures the time and place of Coco, Marcelle, "their" English soldier, and the kind people they enlist to help the soldier return home. Aspel also movingly retells several charming legends about the humble and kind donkey. Hartnett has created a classic with warm characters who decry war and help each other despite being handicapped in their own ways. Aspel brings these memorable people to life with an impressive scope of emotion and accent. This is an endearing tale suitable for all ages. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
