Mr B, a wiry little man of fifty with white hair, was sitting in the back of a big white Land Rover when he saw the donkey. It was early evening and the dense rush-hour traffic in Peshawar was moving at a snail’s pace—which was just as well, for Mr B suddenly opened the door, leaped down onto the road and, without a word, sprinted away between the carts and lorries, the buses and the motorcycles…
An eccentric Englishman filming in Pakistan rescues a young donkey struggling with a heavy load on her back and wounded by the effort. Determined to protect his new pet (whom he names Pavlova after the famous ballerina with equally long legs), he decides to take her home with him—by road.
The White Umbrella tells the enchanting story of their odd and eventful journey together from Peshawar to London in the company of poets, smugglers, monks, book collectors and carpet sellers. Beautifully illustrated by the celebrated cartoonist Sally Ann Lasson, it is an allegorical tale about taking personal responsibility for our world and the importance of compassion and empathy. It is the perfect book for young and old alike—a classic in the making to keep and to cherish.