Lamb in the Laundry

Animal Ark [GB Order] #10

by Ben M. Baglio (Creator), Lucy Daniels (Pseudonym)

It's lambing time at Fordbeck Farm. Mandy and James are helping out, and when a tiny black lamb is rejected by its mother, they offer to hand-rear it. But then the lamb disappears ...can they find it before it becomes too weak to survive?

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

Ben M. Baglio created the brief for two series of children's books - Dolphin Diaries and Animal Ark. Dolphin Diaries features a girl and her family from Florida, who travel around the world as marine biologists and study dolphins. Animal Ark features two children who work together to help animals and solve animal-related mysteries. The books were written by commissioned writers in the UK under Baglio's instruction using the pseudonym Lucy Daniels. Each ghostwriter is named with a 'Special Thanks' on the copyright page.

Using his real name he also wrote the book series The Pet Finders Club, featuring a group of three children who search for peoples lost pets.

Reviews

[Viola Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids are really enjoy this Animal Ark series and they wanted me to read one of their favorites. The parts of the story that involved the animals were really great, we learn a lot from Mandy's veterinarian parents and the adventures they go on.

There were just a couple of things that made this not my favorite. One is the use of the expletive "Oh, Lord" (used at least twice, once by an adult and once by a kid). The other is that the kids get themselves into some trouble at the end and weren't held responsible in any way but were actually rewarded for their sneakiness. I don't think my children have noticed these things, however, and we will continue to enjoy the series!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series gets back on track here. It's just the right balance of bitter and sweet -- not too happy and not too sad. It lets you know that keeping sheep is not for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached. And James' dog Blackie gets to play a big part. He's quickly becoming my favourite character in the series.

[A.R. Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when the quality really seemed to be dropping, here's Jenny Oldfield back on her game, with a well-written and more (though not totally original) story than most in the series. This time, the focus is more on the human characters than the animal, and I was interested to read about the Spillers' attempts to run their sheep farm whilst looking after two small children (with varying degrees of success!). Unlike in Owl in the Office, however, the titular animal plays his part: Blackie* the lamb is crucial to the plot... but, I'm afraid, nothing was accomplished by the author contriving for him to spend a few minutes in the laundry towards the end.

*If the name doesn't seem to suit the lamb on the front cover, well, that's a mistake that's often annoyed me. I really don't think I can keep kidding myself that the white comes from the upset bucket of soap flakes!

[Jessica (JB) Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to my 7 year old for bedtime reading. She enjoyed it and it was a fun read when I added accents to the characters.

[Lilly]

I love the animal ark series! Great book.

[swsreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Rachel Louise Mutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice book

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story
love the lambs

[Mohima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book quite dated and the characters quite biased in some way. In terms of excitement, adventure and imagination there was very little of it. Interestingly, this book was first published in 1985, it would have been interesting for me when I was back at primary school in those days. But since children’s literature has evolved, I find that I have a wider and better selection of choice.

The story is centred on two friends, Mandy and James. Both live in a rural close knit village, where Mandy’s parents run a vet practice. The setting and throughout the main body of the story creates this very idealistic world where neighbours help each, children are obedient and good, and everyone is kind, which is not necessarily a bad thing to be honest.

A couple move in to the village and set out to rear sheep. It is difficult for Mr Spiller, as his wife is near to giving birth to their second child and coming from a city background, sheep rearing was new to him. The story begins with James, Mandy and her father setting out on a picnic and find Mr Spiller struggling. They leave their picnic and spend the rest of the day offering a hand while his wife goes in to labour. A baby sheep is born but is rejected by its mother. Mandy and James must find someone to hand rear it otherwise it will die. Few days later, Jenny, the Spiller’s little girl, gets in to an accident and is rushed to hospital trying to save this little sheep and attempting to feed it herself in an unsafe shed, which falls on her. So the story reaches its peak when Mandy and James try to sneak the sheep in to the hospital to see Jenny in order to help her get better, only to land themselves in trouble.

The language was simple and the storyline lacked real excitement. In some parts, it was information centred, i.e. when Mandy’s father was schooling Mandy and James on sheep rearing. I found that compared to BFG by Rahl Dahl this storyline was very safe and did not step outside of the box in terms of creating imagination, thought and adventure.

However, I think this story represents a great link to how children’s literature has evolved over the years and worth studying in the classroom with key stage 2 pupils, comparing children’s literature back in the 80s and 90s to now.

[Amara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book and I enjoyed it. It is funny, sweet, and interesting.

The basic storyline is: Mandy Hope and her best friend, James Hunter, along with Mandy's father, go to help a family, the Spillers, with lambing. The Spillers have a daughter named Jenny and are expecting another baby.

Young Jenny loves a frail black lamb rejected by his mother. Meanwhile, Mandy's Grandma is trying to save the cottage hospital which is in danger of being shut down. But suddenly the lamb, disappears because...read the book to find out!

And Jenny goes into an old shed that she was warned not to. It collapses on her, and she is injured critically. She misses the lamb terribly and is not getting better. Will she be okay? What will happen to the tiny lamb? Will anyone find him before it is too late? When James and Mandy try to bring Jame's dog to cheer her up, the head nurse of the hospital gets finds out and is furious. How will they work that out? And will the cottage hospital be closed forever? Read the book to find out!

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite part was when Jenny and Jenny's Blackie were rescued. The worst part was when Jenny got very hurt in an old shed. My favourite character was Mandy because she helped rescue Jenny's Blackie twice. The worst character was the old shed that fell on top of Jenny. I learned that most shhep can only have one baby, while two babies is rare. Auryn 11 years old, 2015

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny Spiller adopts a lamb that was rejected by its mother and panic sets in when a shed collapses on her.

[Rea]

I really enjoyed this whole series as a child. Back then I'd devour each of the books as soon as I could get my hands on them.

[Sammy]

I 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.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet read, enjoyed sharing it and reading it a loud with a young friend.

[Ellie]

great book

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: This rating comes from my 12 year old self, in a recently discovered school assignment.