Roly, the ANZAC Donkey

Hello. My name is Roly. I'm a donkey.

Let me tell you about the time during the First World War when I worked at a place called Gallipoli. I met a man there from New Zealand who was very special. He and I worked as a team to help rescue soldiers who had been hurt in battle.

Based on real people and events, this is the heartwarming story of Richard Alexander Henderson, a soldier in the New Zealand Medical Corps, and the donkey he discovers wandering and hungry on a Gallipoli road. Richard and Roly form a strong friendship and, working together, they courageously save the lives of many wounded soldiers.

But now the army has received top-secret orders to leave Gallipoli – and quickly. All the donkeys must be left behind. Richard is heartbroken. What will become of his dear friend Roly?

Glyn Harper and Jenny Cooper are the author and illustrator of the hugely successful picture books Le Quesnoy and Jim's Letters. Roly the Anzac Donkey is a moving retelling of Glyn Harper's 2004 story The Donkey Man, reinvigorated for a new generation of children with Jenny Cooper's beautiful illustrations, and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli invasion.

About the Author

Glyn Harper is Professor of War Studies at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He is now General Editor of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War. A former teacher, he joined the Australian Army in 1988 and after eight years transferred to the New Zealand Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Glyn was the army's official historian for the deployment to East Timor and is the author of numerous history books which include Kippenberger: An Inspired New Zealand Commander; In the Face of the Enemy: The complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand; Dark Journey: Three Key Battles of the Western Front; Images of War: World War One: A Photographic Record of New Zealanders at War 1914-1918 and his most recent Letters from Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home. He has written a number of children's books, of which Le Quesnoy and Jim's Letters are the most recently published. Jenny Cooper is a prolific illustrator of children's books. She has been a full-time freelance illustrator for the last fifteen years and has twice been nominated for the Russell Clark Award for illustration.