Duckling Diary

Animal Ark Pets (UK Order) #10

by Ben M. Baglio

Because her parents are veterinarians, Mandy Hope is an expert on animals, from rabbits and hamsters to kittens and puppies. She and her friends help animals in need -and sometimes Mandy gets the animals to help kids in need.

Genres: Animals, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2000

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

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 300th book. I enjoyed this book.

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite part was when Dillon got a new home on the farm with a new Family of ducks. The worst part was when Dillon's egg was abandoned by his mother. My favourite character was Mandy because she rescued Dillon and thought of somewhere that Dillon could live. There was no worst character because the worst part was caused by a fox who was just trying to survive in the wild. I learned that mother ducks abandon their eggs if they get scared away from the nest. Auryn 11 years old, 2015

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of the UK Hodder edition, under the fake author name of Lucy Daniels. In America, this, and all of the other Animal Ark Pets books, would be published by Scholastic under the fake author name of Ben Baglio. The real author of this book was Sue Welford, who wrote many books in the Animal Ark Universe.

Animal Ark Pets was slowing down in how many books it put out each year. The series started in 1996, and this would be the first book offered in 1998. Remember 1998? Libraries were still important, and cell phones tended to look like black bricks with little aerials.

The book is predictable, but overall a decent enough read. Kids of about 8 should be able to follow it. It's a relaxing read for adults that love animals.

Like in most Animal Ark Pets books, this has an A and a B plot, which eventually intersect. The A plot is Mandy impulsively deciding to rescue a mallard egg just about to hatch. She and James had been watching a mallard make her nest and incubate her eggs, but the nest is destroyed at a crucial moment. It's unknown why the nest was destroyed, but thought to be the work of a fox.

The B plot is that Gran's friend's Kathy's 18 year old cat suddenly dying. Kathy would later on feature in a Little Animal Ark book from 2001, The Cheeky Chick.

My favorite character in the Animal Ark Universe is Blackie the Labrador, James's dog. He's still a puppy here, and he shines brilliantly in this book. He finds the egg that Mandy rescues. Would a puppy do this? Actually, yes, especially since he's a retriever breed. I remember my part-Labrador mix Pony bringing me all kinds of objects when she was a puppy.

The illustrator is, as for all of the books in this series, by Paul Howard. This is one of his worst. He doesn't make any attempt to draw ducks or ducklings realistically. This clashes with his recent works doing realistic gerbils and guinea-pigs.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my first book. ever.

[Taylor Troncin]

Loved this series when I was younger. Still a huge animal lover and would like to read the rest of this series!