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The Silver Donkey

The Silver Donkey is a 2004 children's novel by Sonya Hartnett, set during World War I.[1] It won a CBCA award and has been adapted for the stage.

The Silver Donkey
First edition
AuthorSonya Hartnett
IllustratorAnne Spudvilas
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's novel
PublisherViking (Australia)
Publication date
2004
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages191
ISBN0-670-04240-4

Plot summary edit

The book traces the journey of an English soldier who comes across two young girls, Marcelle and Coco, in the rural French town of Wissant. The girls help the soldier, who suffers from psychological blindness as a side-effect of post-traumatic stress, to plan a way to cross the English Channel back to his brother. The girls bring him food and in return he tells them moralistic tales about courage, perseverance and trying your best against all odds. Though his stories are fiction, one is not: the story of his younger brother John who while extremely ill, finds a small silver donkey whilst digging in the garden. The soldier carries the silver donkey with him everywhere for luck, hope and inspiration, which the soldier claims will spread to Coco when he gives her the donkey.

The story can be seen in two ways: from an adult's perspective or from that of an innocent child. The soldier could be lying in order to get the girls to help him, or he could be telling the truth.

Reception edit

The book won the 2005 Courier Mail award for young readers and the 2005 CBCA Book of the Year award for younger readers.[2] It also won the 2007 COOL Award Fiction for Years 7-9.[3]

Adaptation edit

In 2006 it was adapted into a successful musical by Australian writing/directing team Matthew Frank (music) and Dean Bryant (book and lyrics).[4] Produced by the Children's Performing Company of Australia and Echelon Productions, the musical played a limited season in Melbourne, Australia before embarking on an ambitious journey touring the United States, performing in San Francisco, New York City, Orlando, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas. The original cast members were all between the ages of 10 and 20. The Original Studio Cast Recording for the show was completed for publicity and licensing purposes in late 2006. Recorded cast members include James Bryers as Lieutenant, Andrew Kronert as Ernie, Josie Lane as Ruth, Lugi Emile Lucente as Joseph, Chris Scalzo as Sky, Annie Johnstone as Marcelle and Georgie Darvidis as Coco.

In September 2008 the show returned to America with a mainly new Australian cast, traveling to Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco to perform the show.

References edit

  1. ^ The Silver Donkey at WorldCat
  2. ^ The Silver Donkey, Reading Enriches Learning, Curriculum Corporation
  3. ^ "The Silver Donkey". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  4. ^ The Silver Donkey, Theatermania, 2006



silver, donkey, 2004, children, novel, sonya, hartnett, during, world, cbca, award, been, adapted, stage, first, editionauthorsonya, hartnettillustratoranne, spudvilascountryaustralialanguageenglishgenrechildren, novelpublisherviking, australia, publication, d. The Silver Donkey is a 2004 children s novel by Sonya Hartnett set during World War I 1 It won a CBCA award and has been adapted for the stage The Silver DonkeyFirst editionAuthorSonya HartnettIllustratorAnne SpudvilasCountryAustraliaLanguageEnglishGenreChildren s novelPublisherViking Australia Publication date2004Media typePrint Hardback amp Paperback Pages191ISBN0 670 04240 4Children and Young Adult Literature portal Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Reception 3 Adaptation 4 ReferencesPlot summary editThe book traces the journey of an English soldier who comes across two young girls Marcelle and Coco in the rural French town of Wissant The girls help the soldier who suffers from psychological blindness as a side effect of post traumatic stress to plan a way to cross the English Channel back to his brother The girls bring him food and in return he tells them moralistic tales about courage perseverance and trying your best against all odds Though his stories are fiction one is not the story of his younger brother John who while extremely ill finds a small silver donkey whilst digging in the garden The soldier carries the silver donkey with him everywhere for luck hope and inspiration which the soldier claims will spread to Coco when he gives her the donkey The story can be seen in two ways from an adult s perspective or from that of an innocent child The soldier could be lying in order to get the girls to help him or he could be telling the truth Reception editThe book won the 2005 Courier Mail award for young readers and the 2005 CBCA Book of the Year award for younger readers 2 It also won the 2007 COOL Award Fiction for Years 7 9 3 Adaptation editIn 2006 it was adapted into a successful musical by Australian writing directing team Matthew Frank music and Dean Bryant book and lyrics 4 Produced by the Children s Performing Company of Australia and Echelon Productions the musical played a limited season in Melbourne Australia before embarking on an ambitious journey touring the United States performing in San Francisco New York City Orlando Washington D C and Las Vegas The original cast members were all between the ages of 10 and 20 The Original Studio Cast Recording for the show was completed for publicity and licensing purposes in late 2006 Recorded cast members include James Bryers as Lieutenant Andrew Kronert as Ernie Josie Lane as Ruth Lugi Emile Lucente as Joseph Chris Scalzo as Sky Annie Johnstone as Marcelle and Georgie Darvidis as Coco In September 2008 the show returned to America with a mainly new Australian cast traveling to Boston Los Angeles New York and San Francisco to perform the show References edit The Silver Donkey at WorldCat The Silver Donkey Reading Enriches Learning Curriculum Corporation The Silver Donkey www goodreads com Retrieved 2021 09 02 The Silver Donkey Theatermania 2006 nbsp This article about a children s historical novel of the 2000s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte nbsp This article about a World War I novel first published in the 2000s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Silver Donkey amp oldid 1156897255, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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