Saving Winslow

Born in 1945 in a suburb of Cleveland, Sharon Creech dreamed of being many things when she grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, and a teacher. She first fell in love with storytelling while studying literature at Hiram College in Ohio. After continuing her studies in Washington, DC, she began teaching high school English and writing in Switzerland and England. While overseas, she turned her attention to writing and published two adult novels in England that are now out of print (The Recital and Nickel Malley). Soon after, Creech pivoted and focused her efforts on children’s literature. In 1990, she published Absolutely Normal Chaos. This novel, which utilizes journal entries to chronicle a 13-year-old’s chaotic summer with her family, is ultimately a prequel to her 1995 Newberry Medal winning novel Walk Two Moons. Her first book published in the US, Walk Two Moons is based on a family trip Creech took to Idaho one summer when she was young. All of Creech’s subsequent writing has been geared toward middle grade readers. In 2000, she published The Wanderer, a Newberry Honor, and in 2002, Ruby Holler hit the shelves. Most known for her children’s literature, Creech often incorporates animals and has even penned novels in verse like Love that Dog (2001), Hate that Cat (2008), and Moo (2016).

Celebrated for her exploration of family, friendship, and growing up, Creech tackles the challenges of childhood through a variety of methods, including animal stories. Saving Winslow, and other texts by her, draw on a legacy of the connection between kids and animals within middle grade literature. Much like Fern loves, and ultimately saves, Wilbur in E. B. White’s classic, Charlotte’s Web, Louie adores Winslow and “accept[s] the mission [...] to save this pitiful motherless donkey” (4) by concocting a thoughtful and thorough plan that even his parents cannot dispute. Furthermore, Louie’s efforts to save and protect the mini donkey are reminiscent of Ivan and Julia’s endeavors to save all the animals, especially Ruby, from the dreary and confining circus life in Katharine Applegate’s 2012 middle grade novel The One and Only Ivan. Creech currently resides in Maine near a farm where her grandchildren have saved and bottle-fed orphaned lambs. Many of her experiences with the animals and her grandchildren have become fodder for her literature. Creech says, “I was struck by my grandchildren's deep compassion for and dedication to rescuing these vulnerable animals. What strong mutual bonds form between animals and humans!” (“Saving Winslow.” Sharon Creech). This compassion and dedication are evident in Louie’s care for Winslow, for the boy learns to not only tend to the donkey’s daily needs, but also to become proficient in administering shots when Winslow gets an infection. The bond between boy and donkey becomes so strong that they are inseparable. Mack, Louie’s friend, notes, “He follows you everywhere. He probably thinks you’re his mother” (89). This observation speaks volumes about Louie’s affection for Winslow because the bond between mother and baby is one of the strongest, most loving connections.