Simpson and his Donkey

When we were working out what stories we'd write for series #5, the specifically Australian series, we wanted some stories that would be useful as a springboard for some themes that come up year after year in a class. War is one of those themes; it comes up on ANZAC Dat (25th April) and Remembrance Day (11th November.)

For this we chose Simpson and His Donkey — a well-known and beloved story of a man who didn't quite fit the army, but whose bravery was legendary. As well, there's a donkey, and we've noticed that readers of PageTurners love stories about animals. Finally there's the question of justice — a built-in discussion at the end of the story that can lead in to all sorts of other topics.

We blogged about Simpson and his donkey here.

You can listen to the story here.

Click here for a google image search on Simpson and his Donkey and look at more pictures.

Or if you want to discuss something different in class, you might want to read about Ned Kelly, who was hanged on November 11th. I'll be blogging about him soon.