Beating people or animals is never a good idea, and in this beautiful story, set in Africa, a farmer has to learn this - and he learns it from his son. The farmer, his wife Beauty and son Goodwill live on a farm where they grow vegetables, and every week the farmer takes some of the carrots, corn, potatoes and pumpkins to market on the back of his old donkey Jackson. One day, Jackson refuses to carry the load up a steep hill, and when he sits down, the farmer threatens to beat him with a big stick. Beauty sends Goodwill up the hill to help his father with the donkey, and Goodwill stops him just before the beating is about to commence. He whispers something into Jackson's ear, and the old donkey gets up and is willing to go. The whisper is, of course, 'please', and the lovely moral of this tale is that 'it's the little things, like saying please and thank you, that make a big difference in the world.' After a busy day at the market, the ashamed farmer remembers to say 'thank you' to his old donkey. The stunning illustrations, redolent of life in Africa, are an additional attraction to this beautiful and beautifully written picture book.