What do you think?
Rate this book
Animal Ark [GB Order] #24
Lion by the Lake
A working holiday in Africa means the trip of a lifetime for animal-lover Mandy Hope. She can't wait to see all the animals in the wild!
The first day of their holiday, Mandy and James spot a lion-cub down by the lake. But there's no family nearby - has he got lost? With angry farmers stalking the lions that are killing their cattle, the cub is alone and in danger...
Can Mandy and James help save his life?
The first day of their holiday, Mandy and James spot a lion-cub down by the lake. But there's no family nearby - has he got lost? With angry farmers stalking the lions that are killing their cattle, the cub is alone and in danger...
Can Mandy and James help save his life?
160 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1997
About the author
Lucy Daniels
353 books121 followersLucy Daniels is the collective name for the writing team that created the bestselling children's book series Animal Ark, many of the books are also published under the name of the series creator, Ben M. Baglio.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 24, 2024
This wasn't the worst Animal Ark book in the series, but it was one of the most screwed up. This book was dedicated to "all the wonderful people we met in Africa." I guess the heat got to Jenny Oldfield's brain, because this book was a massive departure from her previous books in the series. And remember -- she wrote the first books.
By the way, if you ever want to know who the real writers of an Animal Ark or Animal Ark spin-off book is, just look at the copyright page. Whoever is given "special thanks" is the real writer.
Anyway, back to the nonsense --
Over twenty books in the Animal Ark series were never published in America. Some of them, like Donkey on the Doorstep, I have no idea why, since it wasn't too British. But I can see why Scholastic passed on the African trilogy. They looked at the first book, this book, and said:
Aw, HELL, no!
The Animal Ark series started out as being a mostly realistic series. When it hit its second Christmas special and Mandy still was 12 and James 11, you could tell it was going to start playing kids' book series games, like kids that never aged. Or no one ever questioning why Mandy is best friends with a boy. Since Mandy has been 12, she's had two Christmases, spent six months in Australia and now is spending the summer hols in Africa.
With her parents, away from their veterinary practice again.
And with James ... because being able to afford to fly your kid off with his friend's family to another continent MAKES TOTAL SENSE.
That a human being, never mind if he's from the Maasai tribe, can somehow be a lion whisperer to a young lion cub and an adult pride male is just too ludicrous for words. And then, refusing a quick and easy rescue plan for the cub in preference to walking about 32 miles to the nearest wildlife sanctuary because Maasai Wizard says so is
So
STUPID.
I know it can be hard to come up with plots, but COME ON. Real life just doesn't work that way.
"Hey kids, next time you see a wild animal, try going up and making friends. And, since you're a kid, you can walk 32 miles at the drop of a hat if your heart is in the right place."
Wildlife needs to be left alone. Especially carnivorous species. Even little kids know that, Jenny Oldfield. If there needs to be human intervention to save a wild animal's life, the animal needs to be tranquilized and handled as little as possible. The Internet was becoming affordable to even starving writers in 1997, when this was published. Would not have been hard to contact actual people who worked with lions.
No idea what Oldfield did on her trip to Africa, but I bet it had nothing to do with with this book.
The only great thing about this book are the illustrations by Jenny Gregory. She has a real feel for animals. Too bad she didn't write the book.
By the way, if you ever want to know who the real writers of an Animal Ark or Animal Ark spin-off book is, just look at the copyright page. Whoever is given "special thanks" is the real writer.
Anyway, back to the nonsense --
Over twenty books in the Animal Ark series were never published in America. Some of them, like Donkey on the Doorstep, I have no idea why, since it wasn't too British. But I can see why Scholastic passed on the African trilogy. They looked at the first book, this book, and said:
Aw, HELL, no!
The Animal Ark series started out as being a mostly realistic series. When it hit its second Christmas special and Mandy still was 12 and James 11, you could tell it was going to start playing kids' book series games, like kids that never aged. Or no one ever questioning why Mandy is best friends with a boy. Since Mandy has been 12, she's had two Christmases, spent six months in Australia and now is spending the summer hols in Africa.
With her parents, away from their veterinary practice again.
And with James ... because being able to afford to fly your kid off with his friend's family to another continent MAKES TOTAL SENSE.
That a human being, never mind if he's from the Maasai tribe, can somehow be a lion whisperer to a young lion cub and an adult pride male is just too ludicrous for words. And then, refusing a quick and easy rescue plan for the cub in preference to walking about 32 miles to the nearest wildlife sanctuary because Maasai Wizard says so is
So
STUPID.
I know it can be hard to come up with plots, but COME ON. Real life just doesn't work that way.
"Hey kids, next time you see a wild animal, try going up and making friends. And, since you're a kid, you can walk 32 miles at the drop of a hat if your heart is in the right place."
Wildlife needs to be left alone. Especially carnivorous species. Even little kids know that, Jenny Oldfield. If there needs to be human intervention to save a wild animal's life, the animal needs to be tranquilized and handled as little as possible. The Internet was becoming affordable to even starving writers in 1997, when this was published. Would not have been hard to contact actual people who worked with lions.
No idea what Oldfield did on her trip to Africa, but I bet it had nothing to do with with this book.
The only great thing about this book are the illustrations by Jenny Gregory. She has a real feel for animals. Too bad she didn't write the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2021
This book was okay, ended abruptly though. I didn’t love it but I’ve had it for so long and had started it so many times I was determined to finish it. I compare it to Warhorse because it’s about an animals experiences but definitely on the same level as Warhorse by any means but it was alright. Pretty basic in terms of both the storyline and the writing; it didn’t challenge me at all but I’m glad I read it.
September 16, 2025
Tuesday
9th . Sep . 2025
Tuesday
16th . Sep . 2025
9th . Sep . 2025
Tuesday
16th . Sep . 2025
Read
August 7, 2011I was completely obsessed with this series of books when I was a child and my aim was to read every single book. They are a really good children's series.
August 28, 2014
Ended a bit abruptly but still a good book.
Want to Read
December 28, 2015Loved this series when I was younger. Still a huge animal lover and would like to read the rest of this series!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews