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Animal Ark [GB Order] #2
Pony in the Porch
The only thing Mandy likes about Susan Collins is Prince - her pony. Could Susan's determination to win at show jumping have serious consequences for Prince?
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 1994
About the author
Lucy Daniels
353 books119 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 9, 2024
This is a review of the American edition. Which is a shame, because the original UK title is Pony in the Porch. I can understand why only some of the Animal Ark series was not published on the American side of the Pond since some titles like Swan in the Swim are a little too "British" for American kids. If a pony is in the porch, then an American may automatically assume that the pony has fallen through the porch.
Actually, a "porch" in this book's case means a church porch, which a pony can easily fit into without any damage to the porch.
The American publishers took a dim view of how smart the average American kid can be. If a book is set in England, then chances are the American kid figures out that certain words like "porch" are not used the same as in America. If a kid is interested enough, he or she will look stuff up about life in the UK. The Americanization of the Animal Ark books can get embarrassing at times.
This book tackles a huge problem for everyone in animal welfare -- not everybody who has a pet SHOULD have a pet. Many people may regularly feed and water a pet but not provide it with other things it needs, like proper vet care. Here a pony suffers a horrid health problem that his new owner ignores.
At first it seemed as if Mandy (Our Protagonist) may have been exaggerating the problems Prince the pony faced when jumping. And then I had a sudden memory of those glory days when my parents gave me horseback riding lessons (once a week, until they divorced.) There was one Appaloosa I rode who suffered from heaves. He was not allowed to jump, but did remarkably well on the flat if used lightly. He was a GREAT lesson horse -- very forgiving, but still with a spark of spirit to keep you on your toes. Horses or ponies with heaves just do not have the strength for jumping or heavy use, like this pinto with heaves:
The story is quite lively and unpredictable. I was disappointed in the cover, where Prince is shown as a chestnut. He's described in the book as "brown." In the horse world, brown is usually this:
Many of the covers for the American Animal Ark books, although good paintings in and of themselves, often do not follow the text.
Still, I'm glad I bought a copy of this book. This is a story I'd like to read more than once. Maybe when I become rich (ha ha) I'll replace it with a British edition. This book introduces Mrs Ponsonby and her Peke, who show up in later books. Susan Collins (no relation to Phil) also appears here for the first time.
By the way, this was really written by Helen Magee, who would write many, many books in the Animal Ark Universe. If you ever want to know who the real writer was, check out the dedication page or the copyright page. Anyone given "special thanks" is the author.
This was one of 13 books in the series that got translated to television in ITV's short-lived series Animal Ark in 1997 and 1998. I have not seen this, so I don't know how it compares.
Actually, a "porch" in this book's case means a church porch, which a pony can easily fit into without any damage to the porch.
The American publishers took a dim view of how smart the average American kid can be. If a book is set in England, then chances are the American kid figures out that certain words like "porch" are not used the same as in America. If a kid is interested enough, he or she will look stuff up about life in the UK. The Americanization of the Animal Ark books can get embarrassing at times.
This book tackles a huge problem for everyone in animal welfare -- not everybody who has a pet SHOULD have a pet. Many people may regularly feed and water a pet but not provide it with other things it needs, like proper vet care. Here a pony suffers a horrid health problem that his new owner ignores.
At first it seemed as if Mandy (Our Protagonist) may have been exaggerating the problems Prince the pony faced when jumping. And then I had a sudden memory of those glory days when my parents gave me horseback riding lessons (once a week, until they divorced.) There was one Appaloosa I rode who suffered from heaves. He was not allowed to jump, but did remarkably well on the flat if used lightly. He was a GREAT lesson horse -- very forgiving, but still with a spark of spirit to keep you on your toes. Horses or ponies with heaves just do not have the strength for jumping or heavy use, like this pinto with heaves:
The story is quite lively and unpredictable. I was disappointed in the cover, where Prince is shown as a chestnut. He's described in the book as "brown." In the horse world, brown is usually this:
Many of the covers for the American Animal Ark books, although good paintings in and of themselves, often do not follow the text.
Still, I'm glad I bought a copy of this book. This is a story I'd like to read more than once. Maybe when I become rich (ha ha) I'll replace it with a British edition. This book introduces Mrs Ponsonby and her Peke, who show up in later books. Susan Collins (no relation to Phil) also appears here for the first time.
By the way, this was really written by Helen Magee, who would write many, many books in the Animal Ark Universe. If you ever want to know who the real writer was, check out the dedication page or the copyright page. Anyone given "special thanks" is the author.
This was one of 13 books in the series that got translated to television in ITV's short-lived series Animal Ark in 1997 and 1998. I have not seen this, so I don't know how it compares.
October 9, 2025
Very solid, although I think it took a while to find its stride
Favorite part: The dynamic between Susan and Mandy was very nuanced, which created good tension. I also liked when Mandy and James straight up stole the pony.
Least favorite part: Very sad to learn that horses can have allergies. It was also stressful to have everyone so (understandably) mad at Mandy. No one would listen to her. Hard to read about that happening.
Favorite part: The dynamic between Susan and Mandy was very nuanced, which created good tension. I also liked when Mandy and James straight up stole the pony.
Least favorite part: Very sad to learn that horses can have allergies. It was also stressful to have everyone so (understandably) mad at Mandy. No one would listen to her. Hard to read about that happening.
February 10, 2017
Je vidět, že Mandy by pro zvířátka obětovala cokoli, jak moc jí na nich záleží...
December 15, 2010
Mandy is visiting Mrs.Jackson and while she is there she gets to see her pony, Prince.When Mandy heres that Mrs. Jackson is selling Prince , Mandy is upset.Later on she finds out the new girl in her class bought him she is not to happy about it.When Mandy is at Susan's house,she notices that Prince has an awful cough.Susan says that it is just a cold, but Mandy is not so sure.Days later Mandy finds out that Susan plans to jump him and win no matter how hard she has to push him.When Mandy dicovers what is causing the cough,she has to stop him from jumping or he could die.Will she stop Susan or will she lose her freind?
January 21, 2014
I enjoyed this book in the Animal Ark series. Mandy and James are worried about a pony named Prince. He seems to tire from the slightest bit of exercise and rolls his eyes and runs away from hay. Mandy tries to stop Susan Collins from making Prince jump at the competition at their fair. However, Susan thinks that Mandy is just jealous and decides to ignore her. This could cost the life of the pony unless Mandy and James intervene.
August 1, 2016
Mandy is kind of a snot-nosed brat in this installment. Not my favorite of the series but still happy to be re-reading it. They are nice and light, fun to read after slogging through a non-fiction or something of the sort.
October 7, 2008
this book is very good
November 21, 2009
This book is very caring!
July 25, 2008
i like this book
June 7, 2021
This is a decent story which makes more sense than Kittens in the Kitchen, but there are some real issues with the telling of it. Now that I know, it's obvious Lucy Daniels is more than one person; I suppose I can't be sure, because the 'special thanks' have yet to appear in the series, but it seems to me that I have now read two books in the series by two different authors.
Where the previous book had some forgivably clunky bits of writing, this author seems to have transcribed whole sentences and even paragraphs from the series bible, making parts of the story very awkward to read. There's also too much irrelevant animal activity at the Ark, including hamsters that behave more like gerbils and a stray dog who features heavily in the story, yet adds nothing to it that I can see.
This writer also seems to believe that children under ten are too stupid to take proper care of their rodents; well, if that's what they think of the average intellect of the target audience, perhaps that's why they made it so blindingly obvious what's wrong with Prince the pony at every stage. I'm sure most children can work it out chapters ahead of Mandy - and it gets very annoying seeing her and James bungle through almost to the end without having a ruddy clue!
Where the previous book had some forgivably clunky bits of writing, this author seems to have transcribed whole sentences and even paragraphs from the series bible, making parts of the story very awkward to read. There's also too much irrelevant animal activity at the Ark, including hamsters that behave more like gerbils and a stray dog who features heavily in the story, yet adds nothing to it that I can see.
This writer also seems to believe that children under ten are too stupid to take proper care of their rodents; well, if that's what they think of the average intellect of the target audience, perhaps that's why they made it so blindingly obvious what's wrong with Prince the pony at every stage. I'm sure most children can work it out chapters ahead of Mandy - and it gets very annoying seeing her and James bungle through almost to the end without having a ruddy clue!
February 24, 2018
Mandy and James are worried about Prince a pony. Mandy tries to stop Susan Collins from making Prince jump at the competition at their fair. However, Susan thinks that Mandy is just jealous and decides to ignore her. This could cost the life of the pony unless Mandy and James intervene. I love horses but I don't really like this book because Mandy seems to be a little bit of a brat.
June 17, 2020
In elementary and middle school, I was OBSESSED with these books. Since I am a junior in high school and probably not going to spend many more summers reading from my local library, I decided to read all of the Animal Ark books that I missed as a kid. This was the first one I found, and I loved it! Like visiting old friends!
July 9, 2018
It's really interesting because I kind of remember this book when reading it many years ago.
I was getting annoyed at really snobby characters.
I loved that there is a main theme to the book, but there's also other animal perils going on at the vets.
Really enjoyed re-reading this book.
I was getting annoyed at really snobby characters.
I loved that there is a main theme to the book, but there's also other animal perils going on at the vets.
Really enjoyed re-reading this book.
July 27, 2020
The pony called Prince has been sold and Mandy is worried and goes searching for him. She finds out that he has been sold to Susan, a girl from school who wants to use him for show jumping. But Prince could get hurt. Can Mandy stop her before it's too late? It was a really really good story, I liked when Mandy put together all the pieces of the puzzle to figure out what was wrong with Prince.
- review written by my 9 year old
- review written by my 9 year old
April 10, 2023
Jak já milovala Archu zvířat,Mandy a Jamese a spoustu zvířátek,co se tam objevila.Knížka je od 9 let,je to nádherný dětský příběh plný zvířátek,přátelství a důvěry.Jako malá jsem ji přímo ''žrala'' a přečetla jsem celou sérii. ;)
July 29, 2025
I read this when I was little and I reread it with my own son recently. He loved it and was spellbound by the interactions between Mandy and Prince. A very exciting story with a predictable and safe happy ending.
February 2, 2018
I ova knjiga me jako oduševila ja bi joj dala ocjenu od 1 do 100 a moja ocjena bi bila 100!
November 7, 2021
This was my first animal in the ark book and I fell in love with it
Read
September 15, 2023I loved this it was such a good book. It was full of shock.
Read
January 18, 2024Book Bingo Category: Short Story
This was a childhood favorite that still holds the heartwarming touches I recall from years ago.
This was a childhood favorite that still holds the heartwarming touches I recall from years ago.
June 8, 2025
Great book
December 24, 2025
Reading through my bookshelves. 😁
I LOVEDDD this series as a kid.
I LOVEDDD this series as a kid.
January 30, 2026
Review to follow.
October 5, 2017
A good book easy to read. Shows the relationship between people and how a new person moving to a village can create a new atmosphere. Also engages with aspects of a community life. Features a pony who is allergic to hay and shows the resilience and determination of Mandy who fights until the owner comes to believe her.
September 22, 2021
I have fond memories of reading Animal Ark as a kid. Along with all the other series I'm revisiting at the moment, I've decided to set out to read all of Animal Ark. I know I read a hell of a lot of them but I know I didn't quite get through the whole lot.
Animal Ark follows Mandy and James two crazy obsessed animal lovers for work together to save all the animals in the world. Mandy is the adopted daughter of two vets and many books in the series revolve around her hometown of York and her parent's veterinary clinic - Animal Ark. James is her best friend and fellow helper/trouble maker. The series promotes responsible animal ownership, willingness to work hard for worthwhile goals and encouragement to lend a hand to family, friends and others in the wider community. Animal Ark is pure gold for young readers. Unfortunately they're a bit simple and a lot repetitive for adult readers but let's face it, those of us rereading are likely here for nostalgia than plot. Younger readers will find the series engaging, humorous, a little silly and lots of fun.
This time it's a pony with allergies that needs saving. Well and Mandy to figure out that the horse has allergies. Bit funny in a very cheesy way. Love James' dog Blackie who is a devil. 3 stars for the target audience, 2 stars for me. This one was kind of boring.
One interesting thing of note is that Susan Collins appears to be the main character of Snowflakes Over Moon Cottage one of the new books in the Hope Meadows/Animal Ark Revisited series.
Animal Ark follows Mandy and James two crazy obsessed animal lovers for work together to save all the animals in the world. Mandy is the adopted daughter of two vets and many books in the series revolve around her hometown of York and her parent's veterinary clinic - Animal Ark. James is her best friend and fellow helper/trouble maker. The series promotes responsible animal ownership, willingness to work hard for worthwhile goals and encouragement to lend a hand to family, friends and others in the wider community. Animal Ark is pure gold for young readers. Unfortunately they're a bit simple and a lot repetitive for adult readers but let's face it, those of us rereading are likely here for nostalgia than plot. Younger readers will find the series engaging, humorous, a little silly and lots of fun.
This time it's a pony with allergies that needs saving. Well and Mandy to figure out that the horse has allergies. Bit funny in a very cheesy way. Love James' dog Blackie who is a devil. 3 stars for the target audience, 2 stars for me. This one was kind of boring.
One interesting thing of note is that Susan Collins appears to be the main character of Snowflakes Over Moon Cottage one of the new books in the Hope Meadows/Animal Ark Revisited series.
January 7, 2011
omg always used to read this book, lucy daniels books are what i always used to read and which got me into reading really when i was a couple of years younger and before i started reading more advanced books. lost count how many times i must have read this book i was always drawn into and was always amazed at the length mandy would go to for the animals, also secretly i could almost see a bit of myself in mandy (when i was that age!), she was the type of girl any animal lover would want to be. love this book xx
January 25, 2008
YAY for this book!!
June 9, 2008
It was ok. Part of the book i so didnt get. LOL. I read it a long time ago!
December 11, 2009
ok its kind of boring- they are for young readers!! not to big either- i finish them in about.... 30 min.??? then agian i am an extremly fast reader!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2009
animal ark series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews