World Donkey Day is celebrated on 8th May every year. It is a day dedicated to recognising the donkey and bringing attention to their many amazing characteristics. For many years, the donkey has been of great service to humans. All around the world, this animal has served as a beast of burden and mount. It has survived and thrived even in areas with harsh climates and tough terrains. Donkeys are known for their endurance and persistence. This makes them respected and loveable animals. Their ability to succeed is partly due to their stubborn nature.
It is because donkeys have been around for so long that they turn up in stories and history all the time. They have a role in the nativity story, world war stories, folk tales and humorous stories.
What the library has:
War stories:
Donkeys were used during both wars to carry equipment and supplies, to ferry injured soldiers and to create tracks in inaccessible and steep terrains.
Simpson and his Donkey by Mark Greenwood
There are other versions of this story as well, such as Only a Donkey by Celeste Walters.
Roly and the Anzac Donkey by Glyn Harper
There is another version of this called Donkey Man too.
Nativity stories:
Mary travelled to Bethlehem on a donkey so he has a presence in most retellings of this story. However some of the picture book versions give him a much bigger role and he may even be the narrator.
The Little Donkey by Gerda Marie Scheidl
The Christmas Story as Told by Asselus the Christmas Donkey by Janet Duggan
And others
• Clopper, the Christmas Donkey by EmilyKing
• Clip Clop the Bethlehem Donkey by Jessica Johnston
• The Donkey's Song by Jacki Kellum
Donkeys seem to be popular at Christmas in general and the story Father Christmas and the Donkey by Elizabeth Clark has been published with different illustrators and is still in print.
Donkeys feature in traditional stories such as fables, folktales and fairytales.
The Miller, the Boy, and the Donkey. This version of the fable is by Brian Wildsmith but you will find others. There is also another Aesop fable The Donkey in the Lion Skin.
Donkey Skin is a Perrault fairytale with many similarities to Cinderella.
There is a donkey as main character in the Grimm fairytale The Bremen Town Musicians too.
Mullah Nasruddin (Nasreddin Hoca), the eight-centuries-old "wise fool" character originating from Turkey the subject of thousands of funny, wise tales, jokes, and anecdotes told across the Middle and Far East and retold today around the world and you will find the story about riding backwards on a donkey elsewhere too and see statues of him on your travels. A story about a donkey and an ox also appears in the Arabian Nights.
The Donkey and the Garden by Devora Busheri is a Jewish story based on Midrash Hagadol, and tells how Rabbi Akiva overcame his fear of humiliation to go from humble shepherd to legendary Jewish leader, with a little help from his clever wife and a donkey with a garden on its back.
Tangki Tjuta Donkeys by Tjanpi Desert Weavers
This story focusses on donkeys and their role in an Indigenous community in South Australia.Donkeys are malpa wiru, valuable friends and helpers in the families and desert community of Pukatja (Ernabella) in the APY Lands of northern South Australia. People set off on their donkeys for picnics and longer journeys, always returning home safely.
Donkeys make us laugh. Not sure why, but many stories about them humorous.
And if you only want to read one donkey story don't forget the best one Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig.
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