An inspirational illustrated novel for younger readers from the 2002 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize-winning author of Thursday's Child.One morning in the woods of France, a blinded soldier is found by two sisters, Coco and Marcelle. In return for their kindness the soldier tells the sisters marvellous tales, connected with the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a tiny silver donkey. As the days pass and they struggle to help the soldier reach home, the sisters learn the truth behind the silver donkey and what the precious object means: honesty, loyalty and courage.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 8-11 years.

There are 224 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2008 by Walker Books Ltd .

Sonya Hartnett is the author of the award-winning Thursday's Child, The Silver Donkey, What the Birds See, Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf and Surrender. She lives in Australia. Laura Carlin is an illustrator and ceramics artist based in London. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, her illustrated edition of Ted Hughes' The Iron Man won the V&A Book Illustration Award in 2011. Her clients include The New York Times, The House of Illustration, Vogue magazine, The Guardian, and The Financial Times among others.