Read Lily to the Rescue: The Misfit Donkey free for 7 days. £7.99/month after - less than a paperback.
W. Bruce Cameron's Lily to the Rescue: The Misfit Donkey is a funny farmyard story for 7 year olds about a shy baby donkey who just can't get anyone to like him.
Lily belongs to Maggie Rose, and she tells you everything, mostly through her nose. It's book six in the Lily to the Rescue series, but there's no catching up to do.
It starts at home, with Maggie Rose's brother Bryan in a real slump. His best friend is moving away and he's sure he'll never make another one. So when Mum plans a secret day out, Maggie Rose asks if Bryan can come too. (Isn't that sweet?)
The secret is a farm. There's a pig pen full of glorious mud, which Lily thinks is the best place on earth. And there's Burrito, a brand new baby donkey who's VERY shy.
Burrito has a problem. Ringo the llama, who guards the farm, can't stand him. Then the boys from the ranch next door offer him a place with their donkeys. The grown-up donkeys charge at him the moment he walks in, and nobody can work out why.
Maggie Rose comes up with a clever idea that involves a garden hose and a lot of shampoo. Lily is not impressed (a bath, on a farm, when there's horse poop RIGHT THERE).
What's lovely is how the donkey story and Bryan's story sit side by side. Bryan even says it himself. Being Burrito is like turning up at a new school where nobody likes you. If your reader has ever been the new one, or watched a best friend move away, that'll probably hit home.
Lily's version of the farm is a giggle from start to finish. Carrots are not proper treats. Horses are far too big to be any use. And she's never been spat at before, so when Ringo does it she's genuinely shocked.
There's one sad line early on. Kelly, who owns the farm, mentions that her old donkey died the winter before. Otherwise this is a gentle, muddy, happy read. It's perfect if you've got a child who'd spend all day with animals given half a chance.
If they like Lily looking out for a baby with no family of its own kind, try Dog Dog Goose. A planter full of goslings hatch with no mother around, so they decide Lily will have to do.
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