Donkey

by Betty Root

16 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1989

About the author

Belty Root has a lifetime of experience in education, as a teacher, lecturer and consultant. She has written, or acted as advisor on, numerous books for primary and pre-school children.

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 1989 book was almost shocking in that it packed so much into less than 20 pages. The unnamed donkey is overworked, and then abandoned by his heartless owner. Our poor donkey has to wonder all over to find another home.

The sentences are short and simple, yet there is quite a good story that lasts less than a page in a usual paperback thriller. This was written for a UK audience, where pony or donkey rides on the beach were considered normal.

The artwork by Lib Stephen were intricate, humorous and told little stories of their own. The cover shows a crowded beach scene, where one boy eating an ice cream cone pulls the swim trunks of the boy in front of him, so he can see the boy's bum. On another page, a bee steals a letter from a speeding postman. There seems to be a mouse and a caterpillar that follow the poor donkey about. And there is a lot more going on that I haven't told you.

The copyright page states that kids can play a game of trying to find a pair of "hidden eyes" in the pictures. The last page reveals what critter the eyes belong to. There is also supposed to be some sort of Letter Sound Game. I've no idea what that was supposed to be.

This was part of a series of similar books featuring animals.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donkey (Jolly Phonics S) by Betty Roots- The book narrates the story of donkey and how moderisation is effecting life of domestic pet animals. This donkey works for his master, a red bearded man at a harbor. Every day the owner moves with him to the habour, loads packets on the donkey and delivers them at different shops in market. Donkey is tired of work. He wishes to have better fancy food. One day, the owner purchases a Van to carry goods from the harbor to the market. The donkey is left alone. Donkey understands that though he is free from work but now who will provide him food. He finds that the local Postman rides a bicycle, a local policeman drives a Police car, farmer owns a tractor. He returns back to the harbor where he finds that children are waiting for their turn to ride on the Pony. Ponies are less and children are many and they are waiting for their turn to arrive. Their owner views the donkey and starts taking the children on round of the harbor. In the evening, the owner takes the donkey with his ponies to his house. This is quite an educative book. Coloured picture help the reader in relating to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.