Kitten in the Cold

Animal Ark Holiday Special #2

by Ben M. Baglio, Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator)

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, Fiction, Middle Grade, Cats, Christmas, Chapter Books

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Sarah Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spending some of lockdown to re-read childhood books to see if they're suitable for students, this is a lovely one for younger years (probably up to age 11/12 max). A little bit of danger, a lot of cuteness and a lovely, happy ending. Maybe more of a December read than May, though..

[Jada Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so sweet how Mandy helps Alex and her kitten

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Animal Ark books from when I was growing up. This one centers around Christmastime as Mandy helps her parents with all of the animals coming into the vet. But this time Mandy does not just help animals she also helps a person. A little girl Alex is sick and needs enough money for an operation in America (Animal Ark itself is set in Britain) so the village tries to have a fundraiser on Christmas Eve to raise enough money for her. However, Alex's kitten goes missing just a few days before Christmas. Without her kitten Alex's condition worsens. Mandy and James are determined they must find the kitten before Christmas or Alex will likely be unable to even attend the fundraiser or travel to the United States. I love the message in this book of helping and giving to others and found this to be one of the best Animal Ark books.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a review of the American Scholastic edition, which came out three years after this book was originally published by Hodder in the UK. Despite the author name on the cover, the real author was Jenny Oldfield, who wrote the majority of the original 30 books. We still have Shelagh McNichols as the illustrator. She still manages to do people than she does animals.

The Scholastic editions are embarrassingly Americanized. It's not just changing of punctuation and spelling, but even using American versions of British things. For example, in this book, the RSPCA is changed to SPCA. The RSPCA is arguably the world's best animal rescue charity. There is no equivalent in the US. In America, an SPCA is just the name to local shelters or rescue groups. SPCA is just a variation of a shelter or rescue group name, like Humane Society. By not calling the RSPCA the RSPCA, it not only demeans an incredible charity, it sends out false hopes to American kids that there is something like the RSPCA in America.

Now, in past books, pounds sterling have been called dollars. In this book, at least, they finally use the correct terms pounds and pence. That wasn't too hard, was it, now, Scholastic? They also used the correct UK name of Father Christmas instead of Santa Claus. Again, not too difficult to keep unchanged, is it?

As to the story itself ... well ... it's an Animal Ark book. It begins promisingly with cleaning Smoky's ears, but then gets predictable and does what would become a well-worn plot of trying to find a lost animal. There's a bunch of deliberately soppy stuff about having to raise money to send a sick girl to America (it would be the other way round now, since health care in America has plummeted) and her bad-boy brother.

Two reindeer come to stay at Animal Ark. They aren't wild reindeer. Remember, reindeer have been domesticated for thousands of years. Jenny Oldfield then shovels on the silly when Mandy and James can't figure out who was playing Father Christmas. Just before then, there was a nice bit when it looked like Mandy's Grandma would be Father Christmas. I think that would've made a better story.

This is the second Welford Christmas parade in the series. I can't remember if Mandy had Christmas in Australia. And she's still 12. Good GAWD.

[A.R. Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have two words to describe this book: disjointed and mawkish. Did somebody tell Jenny Oldfield that Sheepdog in the Snow wasn't Christmassy enough? It's hard to imagine a writer deciding to force so much festive cliché into a final chapter without some such trigger. It was this last chapter that really decided me on the one-star rating, although there wasn't really anything I liked before that. Reindeer in the residential unit had potential, but this was soon side-lined in favour of the much less original sick little girl and missing kitten storyline. The maybe-Santa's-real ending could be seen coming a mile off, and honestly, I don't think it has any place in an overall sensible and realistic series such as Animal Ark. What a disappointing end to my own personal collection!

[Tessie Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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. ;)

[Danielle Schutte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read. Good story about the relationship between a child and her pet especially a sick child.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing!
😂😥😦😥😐😁😑😥😐😧😑😮☺😀

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical Readathon: Christmas at Hogwarts.
Visit the 3 Broomsticks for mulled pixie wine.

[RJC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple story, with a happy ending.

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 4 out of 5]

(LL)
Great holiday story that cleverly incorporates how difficult it is for the sibling(s) of a sick child.

[Mars G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really cute story. Grade school kids would definitely be into this one!

[Amber Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet story.

[Phoebe Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartwarming little story, I just always got annoyed that they didn't identify who was the Santa at the end. But a good December read.

[Bionic Jean]

author: Jenny Oldfield

[SabrinaTheBookDragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute, sweet children's book! Would highly recommend if you want a sweet story about animals and friendship!😊 🧡
Also very high on Christmas vibes 🎄

[Sami Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute Christmas story. I've always loved the Animal Ark books even as an adult.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

[This is an excerpt of my review from Andi's Chapter Books.]

This book is very sweet and appropriate for elementary-aged children. It teaches them how to care for animals and how to do what's right to care for your fellow man. The kids never try to perform any heroics. And it is blissfully free from vampires, werewolves, zombies and other paranormal or fantastical creatures. Those can make for some fun stories, but kid lit has been inundated with them, lately! It also helps to keep the magic of Christmas alive, which is especially nice for those younger ones who still truly believe.

Kitten in the Cold has enough drama in it to keep the pages turning, without being scary. I will admit to even having a pit in my stomach during some parts of it. And while this series features a girl as the main character, boys and girls alike can enjoy this book and the rest of the Animal Ark series.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but the only thing I did not like about it was the fact that the cat almost died. The worst thing was that you actually thought the cat was dead based on what they said. I really other than that loved the book and can't wait to read more.

[Mindy Mcc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok if I am going to make my goal of 100 books this year I have to read some shorter books. So I asked my nephew Michael (9 yrs old) to share some of his favorite books this year. This is the 1st one and a very cute Christmas one about a cute little kitty's Christmas troubles...

[Violet Garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very good. I was so happy when Mandy and James saved Amber the cat before she froze to death. Alex was so happy when they rescued Amber. I also enjoy books with cats as main characters. I think this book is a good book for people who love animals.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this awhile ago...OK a long time ago but it was actually quite short and good.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

animal ark

[Mariyah]

good

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book very much but read it about two or three years ago so will hvave to read again to remember the story i loved this book so miuch (:

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a little girls kitten disappears in the snow, Mandy and James promise her that they will find her before she leaves for America.

[Yajur jayaprakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

very nice and i love animaa ark!

[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.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorites of the series! :))

[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.