Nina

American readers have traditionally had a deep affection for books like Old Yeller, and The Yearling, awarding them literary prizes and keeping them in print for decades. Our beloved animal companions, tame and wild, have captivated our minds with stories that are right out of the heartland of our own youthful experience. Everyone has had a dog, or wished so deeply to have one that the desire was made real for us when we opened the pages of Gipson's book; we have had encounters, like the characters in Rawlings' book, with wild creatures that made us want to take them home: "Mommy, can we keep the baby rabbit?" Now comes Nina, a new book by 100-year old author, Doris Cahill, that will surely takes its place beside other great books for young readers about animals and their humans. Nina is the warm and stirring tale, based on the author's actual experiences, of having moved to Mexico with her parents for the sake of her father's health, and asking their permission to acquire a donkey for a family pet. Though set in the pre-television past, the story of the young girl Susie and long-earned Nina is more timely than ever as American and Mexican cultures continue to blend. "Welcome to America!" was how the recent Time magazine cover put it. Jose is the recalcitrant but avuncular gardner, who helps Susie with her donkey, from finding the just-right one, to ironing out the mischievous wrinkles created in family life by Nina's presence. Like when the policeman arrives to ask about an "un-licensed" donkey on the premises, which leads to an emotional scene where a white-hot brand must be placed on Nina's rump. From the first page to the last, this well-developed narrative with its satisfyig resolution fixes itself in the reader's mind as one destined for the shelf beside the other classics.Cahill, Doris is the author of 'Nina', published 2001 under ISBN 9780971322400 and ISBN 0971322406.