A little donkey hears the story of his great-great-grandfather, who carried the Virgin Mary when she was pregnant with Jesus, and wonders if he himself will ever meet this King of Kings. Shortly thereafter he gets his chance, chosen as the donkey that will bear Jesus into Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday...

After reading Marni McGee and John Winch's The Colt and the King, and realizing that it was the first picture-book I had ever encountered devoted to the story of Palm Sunday, I went looking for other titles with the same theme, discovering Little Colt's Palm Sunday in the process. The books are quite similar, in that both tell the story of Palm Sunday from the perspective of the little donkey chosen to carry Jesus on that fateful day. This seems a logical choice, as children gravitate to animal stories, and this perspective allows for an outsider's look at the familiar tale. It is a storytelling choice one also sees in retellings of the Nativity Story for children, whether from the perspective of the stable animals - see the many picture-book versions of The Animals' Christmas Carol - or from that of the donkey carrying Mary into Bethlehem, as in such titles as The Donkey's Dream, by Barbara Helen Berger. Here the narrative is in rhyme, and directly connects the Palm Sunday donkey to the donkey of the Nativity Story. Although the language here sometimes struck me as a little too colloquial for a Bible story retelling, and although the rhymes sometimes felt a little too cute for me, I did enjoy this book, appreciating both the tale and the accompanying artwork from Wayne Parmenter. The McGee/Winch book is the superior one, I think, and if I could only recommend one book about Palm Sunday, that would be the one I chose, but this also has something to offer, and is quite appealing. ( )

Best for grades K-2. SSJP teacher ( )