Giraffe in a Jam

Animal Ark [GB Order] #45

by Lucy Daniels, Ben M. Baglio

A family trip to South Africa means an amazing adventure for Mandy and James. They can't wait to go on safari!

Mandy, James and their friend Levina are watching giraffes at a waterhole when Mandy spots one in trouble. Its legs are splayed to drink and it doesn't seem able to right itself. If the giraffe can't get back on its feet, it will become prey to prowling lions, but Levina says they must let nature take its course. Then Mandy notices the giraffe's calf.

Surely they can't just leave a mother and her baby to die?

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Juvenile, Chapter Books

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Lucy 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.

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Animal Ark in South Africa! Trilogy. This isn't to be confused with the Animal Ark in Africa! Trilogy that happened 20 books previously. For some reason, Hodder in the UK decided to make Animal Ark a time static series. This means no one ever ages. So, supposedly in one year, Mandy and James have multiple Christmases, Summer Specials, trips to Africa, America, not to mention the Hopes' six month stay in Australia.

Yeah, it does get to be a bit much.

This was one of the 35 or so books in the series that Scholastic in America would choose not to publish. They wouldn't publish either of the African trilogies, or the Australian ones, either. Just why -- who knows? I think American kids would've enjoyed reading about Mandy's international adventures, and reading about wildlife.

This book was written by Andrea Abbott, who wrote several books in the Animal Ark Universe. The illustrations were by the capable hands of Ann Baum. She had quite a menagerie for us, this time around. We had giraffes, lions, baboons, bees, monkeys, and an industrious dung beetle. Oh, and people, too.

Quite frankly, the illustrations were better than the story, which is pleasant but forgettable. It's a nice enough book to pass the time, but not one of the stronger books in the series. You do need to read some of the previous books in the series, especially the last book, to fully understand what's going on.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so good especially all the detail in it and when James got bitten by the snake, their friendship became stronger by a lot 🐍 thanks to the snake

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to love this series. every title was an alliteration and it was all about rescuing animals. i had very simple tastes. i still kinda do.

[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.

[Taylor Troncin]

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