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REL History
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Books and learning activities for younger (years 2–4) and older (years 5–8) readers.
about REL History

REL History Titles

Fly a Rebel Flag
by Robyn Annear

Harriet
by Anthony Hill

Home to Mother
by Doris Pilkington Garimara and Janice Lyndon

Joan of Arc
by Lili Wilkinson

Kokoda Track
by Peter Macinnis

Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter
by Carole Wilkinson

Once
by Morris Gleitzman

Only a Donkey
by Celeste Waters and Patricia Mullins

Queenie
by Corinne Fenton, illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe

Red Haze
by Leon Davidson

The Mostly True Story of Matthew and Trim
by Cassandra Golds and Stephen Axelsen

The True Adventures of John Nicol
by Julian Bruere

The Silver Donkey
by Sonya Hartnett

Who's on the Money?
by Chris Miles

Ziba Came on a Boat
by Liz Lofthouse

Only a Donkey
by Celeste Waters and Patricia Mullins

Picture book
32 pp | Years 2–4


GETTING STARTED

ACTIVITIES

ASSESSMENT


Purchase book

SINGLE COPY
$24.95

PACK OF FOUR
$95.00


GETTING STARTED

[ Overview | Author profile | Illustrator profile | Useful websites | Focus questions ]

Overview

'All the animals were happy at the farm, except the donkey.' The other animals don't have much time for the donkey, especially the bull. In his stable the donkey dreams of walking along a great road to where magic will be. Later, the other animals follow the donkey on his quest. The donkey ends up in front of a stone statue of a man and another donkey. They hear about the statue donkey's time at war, serving and saving others, and then they realise what magic is.

When the donkey and other animals arrive home, after looking after each other on the way, their relationships and attitudes have changed. 'All the animals were happy at the farm – especially the donkey.'

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Author profile

Celeste Walters is most well known for her book The Killing of Mud-Eye for young adults. She has also written other young adult novels: Deception, The Glass Mountain and The Last Race.

She has had a varied career, including acting in a children's theatre, teaching in primary and secondary schools, lecturing at Deakin University and being an art gallery director.

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Illustrator profile

Patricia Mullins is best known for her collage illustrations made of tissue paper. Her illustrations for the books Dinosaur Encore, V is for Vanishing, Crocodile Beat and Hattie and the Fox are contemporary classics for Australian children. Most of these books have won or been shortlisted for awards in Australia and overseas. V is for Vanishing won the 1994 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books (Children's Book Council of Australia).

Patricia didn't really like books and reading when she was a girl. She spent most of her time drawing. She has studied puppetry and made puppets, and she is now especially interested in old rocking horses.

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Useful websites

  • Australian War Memorial
    www.awm.gov.au (also follow the links to the Lone Pine virtual diorama)
  • Shrine of Remembrance
    www.shrine.org.au

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Focus questions

Before reading the book

  • What do you know about the statue of the two men and the donkey on the cover?
  • What do you think the donkey is thinking?
  • How has the picture on the cover been drawn? Think about medium (materials such as crayons, pencils or paint), colour and composition (where the viewer is looking at the picture from, how far away the donkey and statue are from the viewer, framing - what is around the main subject of the picture?)
  • What do you think the title means?
  • What do you think might happen to the donkey on the cover? What other stories do you know about donkeys?

During and after reading the book

  • What do you learn about the donkey's relationship with the other animals?
  • What do you think the magic is?
  • Why do the other animals change?
  • What is important about the statue donkey's story?
  • What do you learn about war from this book?

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ACTIVITIES

ASSESSMENT