Brighty of the Grand Canyon

Ninth Printing-Tight, clean and unmarked-" first published January 1st, 1953-" Brighty of the Grand Canyon is a children's novel from 1953, written by Marguerite Henry. Now viewed as a classic of American children's literature, it tells the adventures of a little donkey (or as the Spanish say, burro) who blazed trails through the Grand Canyon, had many adventures, and met many famous people in the process. It is loosely based on a real-life donkey, who was first seen around 1890. -The novel begins as Brighty, a wild donkey, made friends with a prospector, Old Timer, who was searching for copper in the Grand Canyon. The grizzled old man named him, Bright Angel after a creek that flowed into the Grand Canyon from near his summer dwelling on the North Rim. The two of them had a special bond, but Brighty remained a free spirit, roaming the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon. The prospector was an honest old soul, and freely told others where he thought he had located a seam of valuable copper ore, and early in the novel, he was murdered by Jake Irons, a ruthless claim-jumper. We read of all the adventures Brighty went through over the years. He touched the hearts of all who knew him, and made other friends with mapmakers, prospectors, naturalists, game hunters and had another special relationship with Uncle Jim, a man who was trying to track down the murderer of his old friend. Brighty also made enemies of those who wanted to catch him and put him to work. More than once when he was captured, he was beaten with sticks, and once he was put into a cage and almost hanged when the captor (whom he knew from before) tried to force him across the canyon. Another time Brighty barely escaped with his life, was in a fight with a mountain lion. Brighty gladly helped those with whom he felt a loyal bond, and spent some summers carrying water from a spring below the rim, for the tourists coming to the Canyon. He was gentle and popular with children, even allowing children to ride on his back sometimes. He never allowed adults to do this however and would kick, bray, and run off into the distance. Brighty was a wily donkey. He also became the leader of a herd of wild donkeys, fighting for his position as their natural chief, until he was finally supplanted by a younger and fitter donkey. Brightys trails across the Grand Canyon eventually were the base for the suspension bridge, over the Colorado River at the base of the canyon. He watched the rock being carved out and assisted with the construction and building of the bridge. Brighty was the first to cross the suspension bridge, alongside Uncle Jim Owen. At the opening ceremony, he was honored by President Theodore Roosevelt, who admired Brighty very much. Brighty had often gone along with the president when he was hunting for mountain lions. Teddy Roosevelt was known to be a very keen hunter. A couple of the chapters tell of Brightys bravery during these episodes. I must admit to not enjoying this part of the novel. Times have changed of course. Big game hunting still goes on but is perhaps not so widely accepted as a sport. I tell myself too, that these locals were trying to protect the sheep and cattle they farmed, from attack by the hungry mountain lions. But still, I feel it dates the book, I feel the context needs to be explained and discussed, should it be read by a child. (The book is most suitable for children of about 8 to 12). In the same way, some aspects of 19th-century literature, where our perceptions have moved on, lead naturally to thoughtful discussion." -Bionic Jean-nicely illustrated.