'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.'
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.
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.