Kittens in the Kitchen

Animal Ark [GB Order] #1

by Lucy Daniels

When a stray cat gives birth to kittens in Mr. Williams' kitchen, he is furious. Can Mandy find homes for four kittens in one week?.

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

153 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 1994

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

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this series when I was younger. My grandmother bought the entire set (that had been published at the time) and gave them to my cousin; who hated them. She loaned the set to me and I read, and re-read, them all. I loved these stories, and even now when I stumble across one I haven't read I'll sit down and read it. They are a little cheesy from the adult perspective, but as a eight-twelve year old girl I couldn't get enough of them. I was so angry when my dad made me give the books back to my cousin, who in the end threw them away. If you're looking for a good book for children who love animals and reading, these books are worth a try!

[Liana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, I used to love the Animal Ark series as a kid! Because of my strong love for animals, these books made me want to be a veterinarian when I grew up.(Along with the television show, Zoboomafoo. LOL.) Good times!!! Mandy, the main character did drive me a little nuts as a kid, but I really loved all the different animal stories, and how Mandy could help and save them. It was SUPER SAD whenever an animal actually died...! But it really goes to show that real life is just like that too.

I particularly liked all the cat stories in this series the best, like Kittens in the Kitchen. I can't remember all of it and I'm probably getting confused with one of the other cat stories, but I do remember some guy REALLY hating cats and he was super scary - like he wouldn't hesitate to kill one with his bare hands. :P

[Rachel]

Animal Ark was the first series that I actually waited for books to come out in. I would run to the library to the spot where these books were held and peruse the titles over and over, looking for a new one. I read every book there was until I was probably way too old to be reading them! Actually I read these books to the point where I was just reading them to say that I'd read them all. I read Animal Ark, Animal Ark Pets, and a couple of the Animal Ark Hauntings (they scared me too much). Eventually though, I realized that every book had the same plot. Mandy and James would find something in trouble. And every single time (not ONE book do I remember this not happening in) they fixed the problem, saved every animal, and saved the day. It's a great series for kids, but I over read these books past the point of enjoyment, unfortunately.

[Rebecca Tudor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia reread

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book back when I was around 7 I think. I was irresistibly drawn to the cats on the cover but not so much to the text as I had never read it. I actually ended up with around 5 books in the series, all of which I never read but just admired the pretty covers of animals. It probably would have been better if I had read the book at the time I bought it because reading it almost 20 years later as an adult, I see just too many problems with it.

Walton is a stray cat who is about to have babies. Mandy, the daughter of two veterinarians who own their own clinic, is very found of Walton. She had discovered her abandoned in a plastic bag when she was a kitten and helped nurse her back to health at the school. This is the first problem with the plot. If Mandy's parents are both vets, why did they not help out a sick, abandoned kitten? Why did they not take her into their clinic and then find a home for her or make her their own pet? That makes no sense and seems very strange.

Walton has taken a liking to the yard of the schools custodian, Mr. Williams, who just happens to hate cats. On his porch Mandy sets up a bed of newspaper for Walton to have her babies at, but Walton instead decides to go into the kitchen and have her babies in a warm, dark, comfy, clothes hamper. Mr. Williams is furious but is persuaded by his wife to let the cats stay for one week. After that week, if Mandy has not found a home for them, he will personally kill them. . . no, seriously. That is extremely disturbing for a child's book. Mandy runs home and asks her parents if the cats can avoid such a horrendous fate by coming to the clinic after the week is over. Her mother tells her no because they can't make any money from strays. This is also disturbing. Vets are supposed to care about animals and their well being. I doubt one would let a week old baby be killed because no money can be made off of it.

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Rated by my daughter**

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh l want a kitten

[brahski microsoft · Rating 3 out of 5]

If my evil fifth grade teacher had just let me read these books without insisting that I read stuff "at my reading level," I have no doubt I would be a veterinarian right now instead of whatever the fuck is going on in my life.

Favorite part: Walton is a great name for a lady cat.

Least favorite part: The romance they seem to be setting up between James and Mandy. I believe James is a homosexual, and Mandy may be one as well.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about the care of kittens ... the love of a young girl and her friends for the pets she works with ... and a few lessons on getting along with people as well.

[Payton Hughes]

This was one of my favorite series as a kid! I’m glad to see it still holds up.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this from the library when I was younger and wanted to read it again

[Abi Pellinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prompt for April for the Booktube Rereadathon was to re-read a book from a genre you don't go for anymore. I thought I'd hit exactly what I needed when I spied my Animal Ark books in their box set on top of my shelves, and picked book number one: Kittens in the Kitchen. It wasn't exactly the right choice to have made. Immediately after starting this book my own beautiful cat Tigger had to be put down. It made this simple kids book a lot harder to read. Thankfully, however, I do have the memories of reading it many times as a child and so I can still give it a decent review for you guys!

The whole Animal Ark series, written by various UK authors under the pseudonym Lucy Daniels, are wonderful books following Mandy Hope. An adopted girl who lives at her parents veterinary practice and who loves to help animals she finds in and around her rural village in the UK. Kittens in the Kitchen is the first book in this series and follows newborn kittens who's mother made their home in the school caretakers laundry basket. He doesn't want them there so Mandy and her best friend James have to take care of the kittens and find them new homes.

The two, in the short span of less than 200 pages, have to overcome prejudice against older and grumpy members of their village as well as learning to look after these newborns. It's a lovely little book and I remember absolutely adoring learning about all the animals when I first read these books many years ago. It's such a sweet series and despite the bittersweetness I'm glad that I returned to them once again to remember Mandy's exploits and all the animals she helped.

REREAD REVIEW:

I hadn't even realised that this was a(n adult) reread until I looked more closely at my Goodreads page and saw a review on there from 2018! I hadn't thought I'd read this since I was a kid! Shows how good my memory is!

A cute childhood reread that took me no time at all. Still recommend this cute series to kids! Half tempted to keep reading the other ones l have

[Penelope Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hang onto your hats, this is going to be a long one.

A stray cat at the school that Mandy named Walton had her kittens in someone’s kitchen. And they are not happy. They even threaten to kill the kittens! He gives her one week to remove them from the kitchen and find a home for them. Can Mandy save them and find them homes?

This was one of my favorite childhood books, so I had high hopes for reading this book. However, a few things at the beginning weren't well explained, and caused confusion for me. As someone who took in a feral cat population ten years ago (that had five pregnant cats in it!) I’ve seen cats during pregnancy and after giving birth, so that is what I’m basing my facts on.

The cat had kittens in the kitchen of a person who dislikes cats, and he gives Mandy one week to find them homes. Mandy is distraught but agrees. YOU CAN’T GIVE AWAY KITTENS AT ONE WEEK OLD. And if they are without a mother, they will need 24/7 care and bottle feeding at that age. The recommended age to give away kittens is 8 weeks. I waited until after 10 weeks for mine because I wanted to make sure they were weaned enough. Also there are other things to consider if separated from the mother too soon, such as behavioral problems (learns not to bite hard from the mother’s discipline) and grooming habits which she will mimic from watching the mother and being on the receiving end of the mother’s grooming. The author meant they were looking for homes for when the kittens are old enough. That’s different. For four chapters worth, it read like they want to find a home for them in one week because they can’t stay in this person’s house longer than a week. In chapter four Mandy does finally say Walton will need to care for them a little longer than a week, and she tells a potential adopter that they are too young. I wish this had been clarified earlier in the book! I was very heated about this, thinking it might cause kids to try to take kittens who are too young! It isn’t until chapter nine that Mandy says they will be ready to be adopted in seven weeks. And the book is ten chapters long! This really should have been addressed earlier in the book.

Mandy insists that if she moves the mother and newborn kittens, the mother, Walton, will abandon them. Yes, some mothers will abandon kittens for various reasons, I’ve seen it happen (but I never found the mothers so I don't know if they would take them back or not), but as long as you move the mother with the kittens, it should be fine. There was a cat that had kittens at my grandma’s and her dog apparently scared her during the moving process. She moved three to a new location, and two more were in my grandma's garage. When I picked up the two babies (it was apparent by how thin they were that they had been there for a few days without care from the mother) and attempted to give them back to the mother (my mom found where the cat had moved them to), she left her three babies and took back the two she was missing. And she immediately went on to nurse them and lick them. I also had an abandoned kitten years ago who was about a month old, and my cat had just had kittens around the same time. And my cat adopted him. So it’s not accurate to just assume the mother will abandon the kittens as long as they are moved together. In this case, she could have taped the lid shut on the laundry basket and gently carried them out as a family.

Mandy gets worried about Walton’s milk drying up. I’ve never seen this happen, as long as the kittens are nursing, but I could be wrong. Unless the mom is very VERY malnourished or has health problems, I don’t think the milk will dry up. One of the five cats I mentioned above that was pregnant had a litter that had severe birth defects and she lost the whole litter. She was lean (not unhealthy lean but still lean) and she went on to nurse the other four cat’s kittens until they were six months old (at least, the ones I still had, I gave most of them away).

Mandy calls these one-day-old kittens “hanging on by a thread”. THEY ARE A DAY OLD. They are supposed to be weak and not able to stand up. Their eyes are supposed to be closed. That’s normal. 😆

Mandy talks about Smokey, the "rough and tumble" kitten being the right fit for a family. At one week old, they won’t really show that much personality so I laughed a bit at this. 😆

Mandy dumps the laundry basket over so they can explore. They are still under a week old. They won’t care about exploring until their eyes open later on.

This one is a spoiler, so spoiler tags:
YOU DON’T LEAVE A FOUR DAY OLD KITTEN ON SOMEONE’S PORCH STEP EVEN WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS. Anything could have harmed it or killed it before someone found it. I had two newborn puppies many years ago that owls took. If they would take a puppy, you know they would get a kitten at this age. They do look like mice almost. The illustration makes it look like the kitten was a month old.

Also the end felt rushed because Mandy wasn't looking for a place for the mother and kittens to stay after the week was up. Her grandparents happened to be home for a random reason and were able to have Walton stay there for the next seven weeks.

I realize some of the things that bothered me was the author's way of making things happen faster than they should for the younger readers sake. To keep their attention. So I guess I can look past it. I still liked the book and plan to read more in the series. :)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books were like crack for ten year old girls back in my day. Everyone in the library used to fight over them.

[Cait S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another series from my childhood that I'm revisiting! Nice and nostalgic, very fast read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

just the animal ark series in Year 4!!! :D

[A.R. Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series really was a business proposition at its conception, with appealing covers and stories inside that do 'exactly what it says on the tin'. It's therefore a bit soulless, perhaps, but great for the target audience, and I remember reading this particular book more than any other as a child. At the time, the story seemed to make more than enough sense; now, in the cold hard light of adulthood, it doesn't make nearly enough! With a week to go before the cantankerous Mr Williams is going to turn the mother cat and her kittens out of his kitchen, Mandy really should be concentrating on finding the 'halfway house' she's going to move them to after that; whoever's house that is (no spoilers here!), surely to God, won't mind her taking her time and finding permanent homes for the kittens in the further six weeks before they're ready to leave their mother!

There are some other, minor plot contrivances that I don't think would bother a child (well, not me, as I recall). Aspects of the writing feel rather clunky now, but again the target audience really wouldn't notice and, indeed, the occasional info-dump may help to make the story more accessible. It's easy to read, with the characters and settings conveyed very clearly, though some more successfully than others; I remember noticing even as a child that Mandy and James's school life was less fully and convincingly realised than other aspects of their lives, while the village of Welford with its farms, cottages, uncomplicated characters and animals in trouble are vividly established in this opening to the series.

Surprisingly for me, there were one or two things I didn't fully appreciate as a child, particularly Mandy's elders' attempts to get her to see things from someone else's perspective, thus addressing a character flaw I don't think I noticed all those years ago - perhaps because I shared it with her. As a child, I was rather envious of Mandy's rural village life and her magic touch with animals, and perhaps most envious of all of her involvement with four newborn kittens, since I remember this book so much better than any of the others. Now, many years later, I still find myself wishing I lived somewhere like Welford - but this time I was more envious of Gran and Grandad, living quietly in Lilac Cottage, than I was of the young protagonists!

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sought out this series and gave it to our 7-year old based off a recommendation from another catholic parent. She is a veracious reader and we are always looking for new good books! She has read a dozen books in the series and I just got around to reading the first book... D'oh. Definitely not the worst book ever, but I would not have encouraged my daughter to read this series, if I had read it first.

The heroine, Mandy, is a 13 year old girl with good and bad qualities. The problem is that the bad qualities are never corrected by the parents or addressed in the book. Mandy is very immature and seems to receive little guidance or correction from her parents. They exist mainly to enable her. The biggest issue is that she has an unhealthy relationship with animals. She seems to value them over people and isn't hesitant to be rude to adults that don't share her passion. It isn't enough to be kind to animals that cross your path. If you don't personally enjoy being with animals, it is a signal that you are a bad person. She has a self-righteousness that feels almost religious. There is also a brief reference that Mandy is a vegan and her mother does yoga. The book subtly reinforced this message by having multiple grumpy older characters open their hearts to animals (a squirrel & kitten) over the course of the book.

MY SOAPBOX: It is okay to like animals, as long as you don't value them over humans. It is okay to not like animals, as long as you don't mistreat them. This is a person preference and has no bearing on your morals or character.

It was a fun surprise that this book is set in the English countryside. The downside is that it is written in a very English (verbose) style. The book sometimes takes three pages to say something that could have been communicated in one paragraph. This could be seen as a challenge to younger readers or... just not friendly to young readers.

The book also discusses animals being killed (a squirrel killed by a car that leaves a baby behind & a dog put to sleep) with English frankness.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ésta novela corta es ideal para iniciar a los más pequeños (infantes de entre 7 y 10 años) en la lectura; especialmente si son amantes de los animales. Es una historia infantil con una cierta elaboración en su trama (nudo, con ciertos entuertos y desenlace), partiendo de una premisa argumental de índole altruista y humanitaria; cosa sustancialmente didáctica en los tiempos que corren hoy en día. La emocional y emocionante trama abarca una semana en la que dos amigos (medio novios) buscarán hogar a cuatro gatitos hijos nacidos de la gata que ronda su instituto y siempre está alrededor de la vivienda de la portería. La presencia de los secundarios, necesarios para la búsqueda de la resolución del futuro de los mininos, no hacen sino dar mensajes subliminales y moraleja al lector (cómo que no hay que prejuzgar las apariencias y actitud de algunos, varios en éste caso, individuos).
Dotado de una extensión y desarrollo más que correcto y un final predecible a la par que semi realista (porque ya os digo que no es tan fácil colocar gatitos ni encontrar personas tan benevolentes y poco egoístas por el mundo), lo único de lo que peca, en mi opinión adulta y observadora, es que nuestra protagonista no tenga ninguna mascota en casa o no se aluda al respecto. Por lo cual, y perfectamente, bien podría haberle solicitado a sus padres haberse quedado uno al menos...pero ya se sabe que muchas veces: “en casa del herrero, cuchara de palo”. Aunque me ‘chirría’ bastante tratándose de unos progenitores que son Veterinarios.

Así pues, “Ón deixem els gatets?” (¿dónde dejamos a los gatitos?) es una historia de mensaje didáctico amable, emocional y altruista revestido de novela de aventuras. Recomendable a todas luces para instruir a los pequeños hacía el amor, afecto y compasión por los seres vivos.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was going to write up a quick backdated review, since I found (approximately) when I read it! Unfortunately, I can't find the supporting material (photos of illustrations) that I'd taken, so... you'll have to take my word for it until I get a minute to find stuff.

Or you could look at the cover, I guess. That works.

Overall, a cute story about rescuing a pregnant stray and the litter of four she has. Main issue: the stray is described as a "tiny" cat, then in the *week* since she gave birth, the kids are bottle-feeding the kittens...

THAT ARE AT LEAST THREE WEEKS OLD, FROM THE SIZE

...well, okay, they MIGHT have still been newborn, but... I've had a pregnant stray hanging around, and she was HUGE—that might've been believable if she'd had four kittens that size. A "tiny" cat having FOUR of those??

I've complained about disconnect between author and artist in my reviews before, but this was pretty bad.

The rest of the story was a bit of a stretch. Like, pretty much it was about beating down doors to find homes for four* cats in a town already saturated with cats, up to and including talking inexperienced elderly sisters into taking care of a kitten they didn't initially want. I don't know... not that I *don't* want cats to all find forever homes, just that this feels like too much of a reach for a happy ending to feel that happy.

*actually five, the couple who complained that the stray had taken up residence at their house decided to adopt the mama cat, aww!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years, I've braced myself against resisting this series. I'm a fan of the Animal Inn series (first book published in 1986, last book in 1991) by Virginia Vail. Animal Ark (first book published in 1994) is suspiciously similar:

* Both series are about a vet's daughter.
* Both veterinary practices are the same name as the series. Both girls have a can-do attitude about helping animals.
* Both even have not, one, not two but THREE pet rabbits with the same names (although Animal Inn's heroine had a fourth)
* and both series are aimed at the same age markets. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, but it looked as Animal Ark was just a poor rip-off of Animal Inn.



So, I gave in to temptation and read this book.

How much did I like it? I now own about 20 books in the series. They're very more-ish, as the English say.



I read the American edition and did cringe at the Americanisms stuck in to cover up the British lingo and customs. "Mum" is spelled the American way of "Mom" and "potato chips" are used for "crisps." Things like that. If I ever get stinking rich, I'll get the British editions. But until then, I make do with the American.

There are also a couple of nods to the most famous vet series of all -- the James Herriot series. Animal Ark is set in Yorkshire (at least the first books are) and so were the James Herriot books. In the next book, there's even a clone of Tricki-Woo and his owner in Animal Ark -- but that's in the next couple of books.

Meanwhile, Kittens in the Kitchen wound up being unpredictable, satisfying and believable. It's also not too fluffy-bunny silly. Bad things do happen in the Animal Ark universe. The kitten care advice seemed accurate. I've gone through a lot of crap in my life (come to think of it, my life still has it's full quota of crap) so a book series like this is a great way for me to relax and find some enjoyment in life.

That's my excuse for 48-year-old me collecting this series, and I'm sticking to it.

[Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this but I think the problem is I read it as an adult and I noticed things that I found incorrect and I think when something is aimed at children it should both be fun and loving but also correct, just an example at one point she says she’s glad she’s a vegetarian, she hardly eat meat anymore. That’s just not what a vegetarian is and there was no need, it’s an opportunity to educate children about what a vegetarian is and could have easily said “she never eats meat anymore” 🤷‍♀️🙄!

[Katie (Kitkatscanread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh all the nostalgic feels of re-reading this!
The last time I read this I must've been around 10!
I loved re-living Mandy Hope and James Hunter's adventures.

In this book we have a stray cat that's given birth to 4 kittens in Mandy's caretaker's laundry basket!
So she has about a week to find homes for all 4 kittens.

The ending made me feel really satisfied, and I can't wait to continue to re-read these books!

[Unnamed]

This is actually a very dark book from what I can remember.

Trigger warning below:










A man threatens to kill some newborn kittens because he doesn't like them.

An adult tells a child that when they were little, they used to drown unwanted kittens.

A man won't take in a kitten even though it is in danger of being slaughtered, but he does when he think it's his own idea and not someone else's.

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 4 out of 5]

(LL)
I’ve had these books for a long time and never got around to reading them, but I am surprised at how good it was. Solid story for kids (8-13). Most of the plot points and happenings in this book a realistic, which isn’t always the case for children’s literature. I’m excited to read the rest of the assorted books I have in this series.

[Runell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading so many books in this series when I was younger. I've has this urge to go back and read books that I did back then, and I'm so glad I did.

I love how as a kid though it went right over my head that this series took place in England. It was a big surprise to me and I couldn't help but laugh.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good intro to the characters and what the series is meant to be. I think some parts didn't age well, but I loved the message about not making snap judgements about people who are different than you!

[Sarah Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist is twelve and general audience is I'd say around ages 7+, or the lower end of secondary school (Year 8 tops). Another lovely, heartwarming, easy story, and of course I read it in a night because my nostalgic heart loves Animal Ark.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit it, it was pretty dark. I find it messed up how the veterinarians don't want to take in 4 unwanted stray kittens. They should've at least try to contact an animal sanctuary that would accept the kittens.

[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. ;)