The Donkey Club
by
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It was Ada who made holidays live. She loved calendar events; Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter all came under her orchestration. She helped the younger kids decorate Easter eggs dragging Nigel to stores for celebratory purchases, the house was decked out at her direction, cookies made, eggs boiled, the right Christmas tree chosen.
This Christmas Ada went all out, the house had a huge cardboard Christmas Moose, she and the boys made, covered in blinking lights, across windows she hung fairy dolls and bells and with so much greenery stapled to the beams it felt like the woods. The children dressed for Christmas Eve dinner at her command, parting and combing the boy's hair, choosing 8 year old Bette's dress, for once Nigel felt too casual and Leah in her apron was a servant waiting on royalty.
Christmas morning found stockings at the end of everyone's bed, Ada had brought them and she waited in expectation at the unveiling of goodies inside. When the tree was ready to be conquered, Ada had everyone sit and wait, opening presents one at a time, holding up the contents for Leah to make record for thank-you notes. Slowly everything disappeared from under the tree, wrappings going into the fire, boxes piled in a corner and Ada was under the tree, her hands searching the floor for the one right sized package, she slowly, pulled away her red face etched with realization, "You didn't get me an Smart-phone," she wailed, long legs stomping in white tights, straight blond hair swinging around she ran upstairs in tears, her bedroom door slamming.
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About the Book
Just after Christmas, a very young donkey named Jenny arrives in Foster Lake, Maine, at the Donkey and Mule Rescue run by Dan and Anne Stevens. Their eight-year-old daughter, Olivia, is fascinated by the cowboys who bring Jenny to them—even though she still wishes she could have a dog instead.
Meanwhile, the other residents of Foster Lake have their own troubles. Henry Hobbs and his wife, Jane, are dealing with the loss of their barn and all the antiques that had been stored within. Isolated from the community, they keep to themselves, their dreams destroyed in the fire. The MacPhees—Nigel; his wife, Leah; and their four children—have recently moved there from suburban Boston. It’s quite a change, particularly for twelve-year-old Ada, who struggles to make friends. Her eight-year-old sister, Bette, however, is friends with Olivia, and the girls soon learn about Jenny. Now Ada has found a mission for herself—to help out with the Donkey and Mule Rescue. Together the girls form the Donkey Club, intending to help out with the donkeys staying with the Stevenses. But when Bette and Jenny go missing, the whole town must come together to find them.
In this novel, set in northern Maine, a group of young girls form a club to help take care of rescued donkeys and soon find their lives changed forever.
About the Author
Lucia Bartlett wrote The Donkey Club to discuss friendships in Foster Lake a fictional an town in northern Maine. With family in the timber business she sees market forces at play, fortunes made or lost on supply and demand. The stronger the wood products industry appears, the weaker it turns out to be.
Maine’s latitude, climate glacial till and chesuncook soil regenerate timber for harvest. Mainers and vacationers enjoy vast areas, recreating summer and winter, Maine has room for everyone.