LUCKY & NORMAN

Two rescue donkeys, two determined children, and one farm vacation converge in this tender story from bestselling author Cain and three generations of her family.

The family arrives at Mr. Santiago’s countryside farm to find a pair of donkeys named Lucky and Norman. The young narrator and brother Eli try everything to win them over—carrots, apples, ice cream, pizza, cartwheels, kites—but the donkeys keep their distance. It’s only when the youngsters stop trying so hard that the magic happens and the donkeys start to trust them. What follows is pure joy, until departure day looms and the tears begin. The emotional core of the book is handled with grace as Mama gently teaches the kids that goodbye and remembering are two sides of the same coin. Lim’s watercolor, pencil, and digital illustrations couldn’t be lovelier. Soft greens and golden fields are bathed in changing light, from bright blue days to dusky blue-violet evenings. Her donkeys are the stars of the book: Their enormous, soulful eyes and reactive bodies register wariness, delight, and heartbreak with astonishing expressiveness. Lim varies her spreads and includes intimate vignettes and sweeping pastoral panoramas that give the book visual rhythm. Rooted in real experiences, the story carries the warmth of something genuinely lived. The Cain family appears white; Mr. Santiago has brown eyes and brown skin.

A bighearted tribute to trust, goodbyes, and the special bonds between humans and animals.