animal ark read-a-thon books 1-5
Welcome to the first entry proper of Animal Ark read-a-thon! Today I am going to cover my thoughts on the first five books in the series, four of which I read, uh, three years ago. But I took plenty of notes! Too many, in fact. Now that I am actively working on this project, I hope I will know how to better pace myself by documenting fewer minute details and more of what interests me about the book as an entry in a broader series.
1. Kittens in the Kitchen by Ben M. Baglio
In the debut Animal Ark book, we follow Mandy Hope as she races to school to check on Walton, a pregnant stray cat that she has been nursing back to help after it was abandoned in a plastic bag, only to discover that she has retreated into school Custodian Mr. Williams’s kitchen to give birth to four kittens in a laundry basket. Mrs. Williams is able to temper her husbands temper long enough to strike a deal with Mandy: she has one week to find homes for all five animals in addition to coming over twice a day to feed and care for them—or else he’ll “deal with them himself.” The rest of book follows Mandy and James dashing around town trying to find homes for Walton, Smoky, Patch, Amy, and Eric (the latter two are the given names of the Williams’s). Naturally, things end up working out, but not without significant effort including Mandy using some Bugs Bunny-esque planning to convince the curmudgeonly Ernie to adopt a kitten to go along with his rescue Squirrel, Sammy.
This book introduces us to a lot of aspects of Mandy that will become reoccurring themes. For example, we learn that she feels a special kinship with Walton because she was adopted into the Hope family and although adopted children aren’t uncommon in fantasy stories, it was a nice detail to include for a book about an ordinary girl in a small town.
Her passion for animals contributes to her greatest qualities (determination, compassion) and her biggest flaws (catastrophizing, naive.) Though they are proud of Mandy and encourage her to do what she can for Walton and the kittens, her parents also keep a firm boundary in place about what resources they can provide (no strays, only patients at Animal Ark.) They also remind her that she needs to keep up with her other obligations (homework, visiting her grandmother, and caring for her pet rabbits) in addition to this project.
I appreciate this dose of reality from her family even though I can also understand where Mandy’s panic comes from. Mr. Williams is almost cartoonishly mean at times, referring to the deadline as “D-Day,” and his wife also tells her “Anyhow, whoever said life was fair?” When Mandy is hanging up the adoption notices with James, she sees there are already so many posted on the board—mirroring her grandmother’s upward battle in a small side plot writing to the prime minister hoping he will prevent the post office closure.
James’ story bridges this optimism and cynicism. While deep in concentration over finding a home for the kittens as quickly as possible, Mandy misses that James has been really down at school. His own cat, Benji, passes away and after thinking a lot behind the scenes he announces that he wants to adopt Eric. Even more than the reveal at the end that Mr. Williams has begrudgingly agreed to keep Walton for his wife, I enjoyed James’ role because it represents the highs and lows of being a pet owner and seeing their life’s journey from beginning to end. I love that this moment will get referenced in later books, too.
2. Pony on the Porch by Ben M. Baglio
Susan Collins, daughter of a famous actress, moves to town from London and, much to Mandy’s dismay, has adopted Prince, a Welsh pony who used to belong to Mrs. Jackson’s daughter before she left for college. Mandy thinks Susan get off on the wrong foot with quick judgments that are only made more tense when the Londoner realizes that Mandy had already met Prince’s acquaintance—which poses a problem when Mandy, after snooping around, tries to dole out advice about the pony being sick.
While the town prepares for a County Fair, Mandy talks to her parents about whether some people shouldn’t have pets and questions the care Prince receives. She goes back and forth on this throughout the book as the pony’s condition continues to change from coughing to thriving to irregular breathing again at the fair; this is complicated when she observes how confidently Susan handles Prince during the practice trials for the fair compared to other neglectful pet owners that are sprinkled throughout the book. By the end, Mandy’s causes a huge raucous at the fair, angers the judges, and twists her ankle, but it’s okay because she helps reveal that Prince is allergic to hay (hence the wheezing breath) and helps Susan realize how desperately she wanted her mother’s attention.
Mom encouraging Mandy to see different perspectives [Susan might be lonely, everybody is different in the previous book, etc.]
Mandy trying to keep her judgment in check
3. Puppies in the Pantry by Ben M. Baglio
This book opens with the unusual announcement from Dr. Emily that a murder mystery is going to be filmed at Bleakfell Hall starring a talented and well-regarded dog actor. Naturally, there’s a few hiccups in the process as George Sims, someone inexperienced with animals, is tasked to look after them since the handler was double-booked elsewhere; plus, the leading actress doesn’t like animals herself. Later on, the leading dog, Charley, goes missing after being let out during a storm, and, worse still, there’s a report that a sheep was attacked by a dog. Mandy does what she can to put the word out to find the dog while also fretting over other animals in town: finding a new companion for Mrs. Platt, who had to put her dog down, accompanying her dad to an animal sanctuary to treat a fox, and worrying about Jess, a terrier, looking “droopy.” Charley is eventually found and given vet care for an injured paw, Mrs. Platt adopts an abandoned poodle, and Jess gives birth to a litter of puppies.
One of the main themes in this book is Mandy thinking about a future career as a veterinarian. On the one hand, her dad compliments her assistance helping him with a calf, but she is also self-aware that worries about animals so much and gets deeply upset. By the end, however, as she watches Charley lick Jess’s puppies, she feels much more reassured that this is the path she truly wants.
This book felt a lot less organized to me and it’s my least favorite in this grouping. Despite being called “Puppies in the Pantry,” which is cute alliteration, it is really about the circumstances of three very different dogs and the care that each one needs.
4. Goat in the Garden by Ben M. Baglio
While accompanying her dad during his cross-country race training, Mandy bumps into Houdini from High Cross Farm - a goat who has been helping himself to the Upper Welford Hall garden owned by Sam and Dennis who are involved in farm modernization. Lydia, Houdini's owner, is a quiet woman living relatively off-grid and isolated from the rest of town. Despite their brusque introduction, Mandy is determined to keep returning to High Cross where she notes the feed stock is running low and Houdini keeps knocking down his fence, which he promptly escapes from and ends up poisoned by flowers. Mandy is frantic to save the troublemaker with an old textbook remedy that her dad insists has been discredited, but it seems to work. This gains some of Lydia's trust and favor making her more amenable to Mandy's attempts to assist the farm.
Throughout the book, Mandy collects unsellable produce from the grocery to feed the goats, concocts a plan to replace the fence with chain link (courtesy of Ernie and Mr. Smythe), helping to market and sell High Cross Goats' Milk, and developing a milk and cheese stand. There's a hilarious scene at the end where Houdini eats Sam's prized roses and rams him in the ass with his horns, which causes everyone present to laugh and comment on what a jerk he has been lately.
This book was a lot of fun, but there are two main things I appreciated the most: (1) Mandy befriending an older woman who has spent the better part of her life living on her own and (2) the quaint little reminders that Mandy is still a kid going to school and learning about the world. There's a balancing act in the book between neighborliness and pity; Mandy notably adjusts her attempts to improve the farm with Lydia's pride and boundaries in mind, attaining consent before she makes big decisions, and respecting the ideas that don't align with the goat farmer's values. As a teacher, I also loved the scene where Mandy is brainstorming an advertisement for the goat milk and her teacher is like "you can't make claims that aren't scientifically proven like you'll live longer" haha It's a good critical thinking lesson to reign her in!
Of course, the backdrop theme in this book is about small town values versus modernization. Even though many of the people in town dislike the UWH, they don't call them out on the way they overstep and boss people around. There's a scene where Mr. Smythe says that he will donate his old chain link to Lydia because it's important to support farms that have been around for a long time. Despite people's initial dislike of Lydia since she doesn't come out to town and mingle, there are people who are willing to stand up for her even if it doesn't "gain" them anything outright.
5. Hedgehogs in the Hall by Ben M. Baglio/Jenny Oldfield
As Mr. Hunter does yardwork, he accidentally sticks his pitchfork into a hedgehog nest, prompting the other to lead her four babies into the house. When the confused mother (later named Rosa) dashes back out after an encounter with James' dog, she is hit by a car. Thankfully, only her leg is injured and the driver, Dr. McKay, helps Mandy provide emergency care to get the hedgie ready for transport to Animal Ark. One problem though, Dr. McKay's daughter, Claire, has seized the hedgehog babies and refuses to hand them over. Simon, the vet nurse whose college friend specialized in hedgehogs, helps set Rosa's leg and agrees to visit the McKays. Mandy attempts polite conversation with Claire and, to her credit, develops sympathy for her as a lonely girl who just moved to town. However, Mandy also discovers that however well-intentioned her desire to care for the piglets might have been, the little girl was very unprepared as the babies have already escaped the cold garage. They prepare a stakeout with cat food to lure them back and eventually manage to bring them back to Animal Ark.
During the rest of the book, Claire atones for her mistake and joins Mandy in a quest to provide longer-term care for Welford's hedgehogs. They help develop Rosa's Refuge in the McKay's backyard so the mom and piglets can recover and make a Hedgehog Crossing sign to encourage cars to slow down. Michelle Holmes, Simon's friend and correspondent for the Wildlife Ways broadcast, agrees to help the rehabilitation effort by clipping radio tags to the hedgehogs so they can track their progress re-acclimating to the wild. Though one baby doesn't survive, the other babies and mama successfully make their way back into the wild and the McKay's agree to keep the refuge open.
Mandy's main lesson in this book is about her shared internal struggle with Claire about wanting to keep the hedgehogs on as pets so they can protect and care for them while also realizing that what they most need is to be released back to their natural habitat. I liked that Dr. Emily consoles Mandy about baby Scout's death by acknowledging that she knows that only time is going to make her feel better; Mandy even reflects back on Benji's death in book one. Although she feels down often in the book, Mandy doesn't waiver from doing what she feels is right for the animals.
Overall, this was a fun first batch of books to cover! Many is a great protagonist - she's emotive, jumps into action, has a big heart, but also readily receives lessons from the world around her. She has a great relationship with her family and James and it's nice to see her open up to the new people in town.
I'm not going to lie, I also find the small town, 90s vibes quaint. It's fun to read about Mandy calling someone on the phone, her grandmother handwriting letters, the novelty of Susan Collins computer, navigating the remoteness of the town on bike. It's almost alarming how easy it is to forget they can't search for something online or whip out their cellphone to look up poison antidotes.
Thank you for reading! ʕᵔᴥᵔʔ
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