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y separately published work icon Only a Donkey single work   picture book   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Only a Donkey
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'All the animals on the farm look down at donkey, until one day they make a journey to a statue of Simpson and the donkey. There they listen to the story of a man and his donkey who worked tirelessly to save wounded soldiers at Gallipoli. Ages 3+.'
Source: Trove catalogue record

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 2007 .
      image of person or book cover 1169774443711347392.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 34p.
      Description: col. illus.
      ISBN: 0670041688, 9780670041688
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Puffin , 2008 .
      Extent: [31]p.p.
      ISBN: 9780734310125

Works about this Work

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda : Australian Picture Books (1999–2016) and the First World War Martin Charles Kerby , Margaret Mary Baguley , Abbey MacDonald , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , vol. 50 no. 2 2019; (p. 91-109)

'Over the past two decades children’s picture books dealing with the Australian experience during the First World War have sought to balance a number of thematic imperatives. The increasingly sentimentalised construct of the Australian soldier as a victim of trauma, the challenge of providing a moral lesson that reflects both modern ideological assumptions and the historical record, and the traditional use of Australian war literature as an exercise in nation building have all exerted an influence on the literary output of a range of authors and illustrators. The number of publications over this period is proof of the enduring fascination with war as a topic as well as the widespread acceptance that this conflict has been profoundly significant in shaping Australian public and political culture and perceptions about national character and identity (Beaumont, 1995, p. xvii). As MacCallum-Stewart (2007, p. 177) argues, authors and illustrators must therefore balance notions of ‘respect’ for a national foundation myth with a ‘pity of war’ approach that reflects modern attitudes to conflict. Whatever their ideological commitment, many authors and illustrators respond to this challenge by adopting an approach that serves to indoctrinate readers into the Anzac tradition (Anzac refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps raised for war in 1914. It has become a generic term for Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The Anzac tradition established at Gallipoli, Australia’s first major military campaign, has been traditionally viewed as the nation’s founding.'

Source: Publication blurb.

The ANZAC Tribulations at Gallipoli in Recent Australian Children’s Literature Hervé Cantero , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglica : An International Journal of English Studies , vol. 28 no. 3 2019; (p. 85-96)

'Generations of Australian children have been presented with iconic figures and values associated with the events of 1915 at Gallipoli and involved in the ritual practices of remembrance exemplified by Anzac Day ceremonies throughout a corpus of children’s literature which ranges from picture books for pre-schoolers to young adult fiction. This paper aims to broadly identify the narrative strategies at work in a selection of recent stories of brave animals helping the Aussie boys under fire or paeans to the duty of personal and communal remembrance and to examine them in a larger context of national self-representation.'  (Publication abstract)

Untitled Annette Dale Meiklejohn , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 22 no. 1 2007; (p. 30-31)

— Review of Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book
Untitled Frances Atkinson , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 29 April 2007; (p. 35)

— Review of Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book
Softly, Softly Catchee Kiddie Meg Sorensen , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 March - 1 April 2007; (p. 36)

— Review of No Room for a Mouse Kyle Mewburn , 2007 single work picture book ; Lucky Baby Yak Helen Manos , 2007 single work picture book ; The Last Tree Mark Wilson , 2007 single work picture book ; Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book ; The Fiery Salamander Colin Thiele , 2007 single work children's fiction ; Piglet and Papa Margaret Wild , 2007 single work picture book
Softly, Softly Catchee Kiddie Meg Sorensen , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 March - 1 April 2007; (p. 36)

— Review of No Room for a Mouse Kyle Mewburn , 2007 single work picture book ; Lucky Baby Yak Helen Manos , 2007 single work picture book ; The Last Tree Mark Wilson , 2007 single work picture book ; Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book ; The Fiery Salamander Colin Thiele , 2007 single work children's fiction ; Piglet and Papa Margaret Wild , 2007 single work picture book
Untitled Frances Atkinson , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 29 April 2007; (p. 35)

— Review of Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book
Untitled Annette Dale Meiklejohn , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 22 no. 1 2007; (p. 30-31)

— Review of Only a Donkey Celeste Walters , 2007 single work picture book
The ANZAC Tribulations at Gallipoli in Recent Australian Children’s Literature Hervé Cantero , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglica : An International Journal of English Studies , vol. 28 no. 3 2019; (p. 85-96)

'Generations of Australian children have been presented with iconic figures and values associated with the events of 1915 at Gallipoli and involved in the ritual practices of remembrance exemplified by Anzac Day ceremonies throughout a corpus of children’s literature which ranges from picture books for pre-schoolers to young adult fiction. This paper aims to broadly identify the narrative strategies at work in a selection of recent stories of brave animals helping the Aussie boys under fire or paeans to the duty of personal and communal remembrance and to examine them in a larger context of national self-representation.'  (Publication abstract)

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda : Australian Picture Books (1999–2016) and the First World War Martin Charles Kerby , Margaret Mary Baguley , Abbey MacDonald , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , vol. 50 no. 2 2019; (p. 91-109)

'Over the past two decades children’s picture books dealing with the Australian experience during the First World War have sought to balance a number of thematic imperatives. The increasingly sentimentalised construct of the Australian soldier as a victim of trauma, the challenge of providing a moral lesson that reflects both modern ideological assumptions and the historical record, and the traditional use of Australian war literature as an exercise in nation building have all exerted an influence on the literary output of a range of authors and illustrators. The number of publications over this period is proof of the enduring fascination with war as a topic as well as the widespread acceptance that this conflict has been profoundly significant in shaping Australian public and political culture and perceptions about national character and identity (Beaumont, 1995, p. xvii). As MacCallum-Stewart (2007, p. 177) argues, authors and illustrators must therefore balance notions of ‘respect’ for a national foundation myth with a ‘pity of war’ approach that reflects modern attitudes to conflict. Whatever their ideological commitment, many authors and illustrators respond to this challenge by adopting an approach that serves to indoctrinate readers into the Anzac tradition (Anzac refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps raised for war in 1914. It has become a generic term for Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The Anzac tradition established at Gallipoli, Australia’s first major military campaign, has been traditionally viewed as the nation’s founding.'

Source: Publication blurb.

Last amended 3 Jul 2014 08:40:18
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