Us, and Our Donkey

The Marjoribanks children have just lost their mother and moved to a new rectory in rural Lincolnshire. Four children with very different temperaments, practical Denys, dreamy Aylwin, mischievous Lynette, and earnest little Puff, share one burning ambition: to own a donkey. But donkeys don't come free, and so begins a summer of scheming, scrapping, and small adventures. Grisel, the eldest, tells their story with wry humor as each child tries their own money-making scheme. Lynette's toffee for the village shop ends in sticky disaster. Grisel secretly hitches a ride on the carrier's cart to sell flowers at market. Denys risks trouble with the local squire selling trout from his private water. Aylwin buries himself in the hayfields, lost in dreams. A runaway pony incident brings unexpected friendship with girls from the Manor Hall, while a Sunday sermon on "Come, Go, Do" nudges Denys toward teaching the village infants. Little Puff's simple prayers are answered when grandmother sends money, and the donkey dream finally comes within reach. This is a book that understands children: their schemes, their scrapes, their capacity for both mischief and grace. It captures a vanished England of village shops and rectory gardens, but its heart is universal, the way childhood teaches us about work, faith, love, and what it means to belong somewhere after loss.