Mandy Hope, a Yorkshire preteen, lives a life quite different than that of many kids. One could say it often gets...wild. For Mandy is the Happily Adopted daughter of two veterinarians, who run a surgery called Animal Ark. Every day, animals of all kinds are brought to Animal Ark for various reasons, and Mandy is eager to help them in any way she can. Whether it's helping sick or injured critters pull through, reuniting lost pets with owners, or rehabilitating orphaned wildlife, Mandy-often assisted by her nerdy best friend, James-is there. Even on vacation, she'll find a way to aid the animals there, like helping dolphins and raccoons in Florida, or huskies in Alaska.
Written by Ben M. Baglio (but sometimes credited to the pen name "Lucy Daniels"), Animal Ark made its debut in 1994 with Kittens in the Kitchen, and continued until 2007. During that time, it spawned a 1998 television adaptation and three spinoff book series: Animal Ark Hauntings, a horror-influenced series that often involved the supernatural, and Animal Ark Pets and Little Animal Ark, both meant for younger readers.
Original Series
- Kittens in the Kitchen (1994)
- Pony on the Porch (1994)
- Puppies in the Pantry (1994)
- Goat in the Garden (1994)
- Hedgehogs in the Hall (1994)
- Badger in the Basement (1994)
- Cub in the Cupboard (1994)
- Piglet in a Playpen (1994)
- Owl in the Office (1995)
- Lamb in the Laundry (1995)
- Bunnies in the Bathroom (1995)
- Donkey on the Doorstep (1995)
- Sheepdog in the Snow (1995)
- Hamster in a Hamper (1996)
- Goose on the Loose (1996)
- Calf in the Cottage (1996)
- Koalas in a Crisis (1996)
- Wombat in the Wild (1996)
- Roo on the Rock (1996)
- Squirrels in the School (1997)
- Guinea Pig in the Garage (1997)
- Fawn in the Forest (1997)
- Shetland in the Shed (1997)
- Swan in the Swim (1997)
- Lion by the Lake (1997)
- Elephants in the East (1997)
- Monkeys on the Mountain (1997)
- Foals in the Field (1997)
- Dog at the Door (1997)
- Seal on the Shore (1997)
- Fox in the Frost (1997)
- Sheep at the Show (1998)
- Racoons on the Roof (1998)
- Dolphin in the Deep (1998)
- Bears in the Barn (1998)
- Otter in the Outhouse (1998)
- Whale in the Waves (1998)
- Hound at the Hospital (1998)
- Rabbits on the Run (1998)
- Horse in the House (1998)
- Hamster in the Holly (1998)
- Ponies at the Point (1998)
- Panda in the Park (1999)
- Tiger on the Track (1999)
- Gorilla in the Glade (1999)
- Tabby in the Tub (1999)
- Chinchilla Up the Chimney (1999)
- Puppy in a Puddle (1999)
- Pony in the Post (1999)
- Pigs at the Picnic (1999)
- Leopard at the Lodge (2000)
- Giraffe in a Jam (2000)
- Hippo in a Hole (2000)
- Foxes on the Farm (2000)
- Badgers by the Bridge (2000)
- Deer on the Drive (2000)
- Pup at the Palace (2000)
- Mouse in the Mistletoe (2000)
- Animals in the Ark (2001)
- Mare in the Meadow (2001)
- Cats in the Caravan (2001)
- Porpoise in the Pool (2001)
- Terrier in the Tinsel (2001)
- Polar Bears on the Path (2002)
- Seals on the Sled (2002)
- Husky in a Hut (2002)
- Beagle in a Basket (2002)
- Bunny on a Barge (2002)
- Guinea Pigs in the Greenhouse (2002)
- Dalmatian in the Dales (2002)
- Stallion in the Stable (2002)
- Cat in the Candlelight (2002)
- Lambs in the Lane (2003)
- Labrador on the Lawn (2003)
- Racehorse in the Rain (2003)
- Siamese in the Sun (2003)
- Kitten in the Cold (2005)
- Mustang in the Mist (2007)
Animal Ark Hauntings
- Stallion in the Storm (1999)
- Cat in the Crypt (1999)
- Dog in the Dungeon (1999)
- Colt in the Cave (2000)
- Hound on the Heath (2000)
- Wolf at the Window (2000)
- Foal in the Fog (2001)
- Deer in the Darkness (2001)
- Cats in the Castle (2001)
Animal Ark Pets
- Puppy Puzzle (1996)
- Kitten Crowd (1996)
- Rabbit Race (1996)
- Hamster Hotel (1996)
- Mouse Magic (1996)
- Chick Challenge (1996)
- Guinea Pig Gang (1996)
- Pony Parade (1997)
- Gerbil Genius (1998)
- Duckling Diary (1998)
- Lamb Lessons (1998)
- Doggy Dare (1998)
- Cat Crazy (1998)
- Pet's Party (1998)
- Hedgehog Home (1999)
- Frog Friends (1999)
- Bunny Bonanza (1999)
- Ferret Fun (1999)
- Rat Riddle (1999)
- Cat's Cradle (1999)
- Piglet Pranks (2000)
- Spaniel Surprise (2000)
Little Animal Ark
- The Playful Puppy (2001)
- The Midnight Mouse (2001)
- The Curious Kitten (2001)
- The Brave Bunny (2001)
- The Happy Hamster (2002)
- The Lucky Lamb (2002)
- The Happy Hamster and Other Stories (2005)
- The Party Pony (2007)
- The Cheeky Chick (2007)
- The Clever Cat (2007)
- The Proud Piglet (2007)
- The Fearless Fox (2007)
- The Friendly Foal (2007)
- The Little Animal Ark (2009)
Tropes present in Animal Ark:
- Agent Scully: James, who always insists there must be a logical explanation for any apparently supernatural happenings.
- Beastly Bloodsports: The antagonists of Badger in the Basement are badger-baiters, people who force badgers and dogs to fight to the death.
- Big Eater: James and Dr. Adam both enjoy their food and routinely eat great amounts when given opportunity.
- Brainy Brunette: James has dark brown hair and is routinely shown to be both studious and clever on his feet.
- Busman's Holiday: No matter where in the world she goes on vacation, Mandy will find at least one animal in need of her help.
- Crash-Into Hello: Puppy Puzzle reveals that this is how Mandy and James met. They were running down the school halls in opposite directions and smacked into each other hard enough to knock James to the floor.
- Debating Names: In the book "The Midnight Mouse", Annie can't decide what to name her pet mouse. Her friend Mandy suggests Snowy, Fluffy, Mavis, Molly, Polly, Sugar, Barbie, or Susie, but Annie thinks those names don't suit the mouse, then she suggests Mandy, but Mandy thinks it sounds silly with "mouse". Annie's father suggests Maxwell, but then Mandy points out that the mouse is a girl. Eventually, Annie decides to name her Squeaker after her wheel makes a squeaking sound at midnight, waking her and Mandy up.
- Does Not Like Spam: James likes pretty much anything you put in front of him but goat's milk and products made from it are an absolute no-go for him.
- Drowning Unwanted Pets: In Kittens in the Kitchen, the cat-hating janitor is so enraged when a cat gives birth on his favorite shirt that he gives Mandy one week to find new homes for the kittens, or else he'll kill them. His wife, who is much more sympathetic to the kittens' plight, tells Mandy that when she was young, it was common practice to drown unwanted litters in the rainbarrell, and her husband almost certainly will go through with this should they fail to meet the deadline. Thankfully, Mandy is able to find loving owners for each kitten before this can happen.
- Everyone Has Standards: Sam Western, in Cats in the Campground, is revealed to have no issue with "useful" animals such as cats and his only reason for avoiding them is a phobia stemming from childhood, with the titular cats being in minimal danger from being on his property.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: The books are pretty realistic when it comes to veterinary science, up to and including mortality rates. The very first book has a cat develop a brain tumor, and its owners deciding to have it euthanized. Many such deaths are shocking for kid's book standards; Dog at the Door has a puppy stillbirth, and its littermate, born alive but very weak, dying shortly after birth, and Fox in the Frost has the violent death of the male fox, who bleeds out both internally and externally after being shot. The narration even states, "Helpless, they [Mandy and her dad] had to stand by and watch the fox die."
- Food Theme Naming: A variation in Tabby in the Tub. Due to having named the titular cat Blossom, Mandy and James decide to name her kittens after fruit trees; the two girls are dubbed Peaches and Cherry and the lone boy proves slightly tricky but is ultimately dubbed William after William pears.
- Happily Adopted: Mandy's biological parents were killed in a car crash when she was a baby, and she has no memory of them. She regards the Hopes as the best parents in the world, and is proud to have such great veterinarians as her mum and dad. Her being an adoptee is often brought up whenever she deals with orphaned or adopted baby animals.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: In the original series and Hauntings spin-off, every book's title followed the convention "(Animal) in/on/at/by the (Noun)", with the animal and noun being alliterative. The Animal Ark Pets books have alliterative two-word titles, with the first word being an animal. Little Animal Ark also makes use of alliteration, with the convention being "The (Adjective) (Animal)".
- Irony: One would expect the animal-loving child of two vets to own many pets of her own, yet to Mandy's dismay, she cannot own any pets of her own due to how busy she and her family are with Animal Ark. This ironic situation prevents her from being able to take in any homeless animals for more than a few days, and is why the "finding homes for pets" stories can't be remedied with the Hopes just adopting the needy critter.
- I Was Named "My Name": A variation in Tabby in the Tub where Mandy and James are inspired to dub the titular feline "Blossom" after seeing her happily rolling around in and playing with a flurry of tree blossom petals. As it turns out, Blossom is the cat's original name and her owner gave it to her for that exact reason.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the Hauntings books, it's never able to be confirmed whether or not the ghost animal that seems to have been showing up was really a ghost or an animal that showed up under strange circumstances.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: A common trait of Mrs. Ponsonby, who is infamous for waltzing into Animal Ark wailing that her precious Pandora is in urgent need of the Hopes' expertise, when the problem is at most extremely minor and likely nonexistent.
- Bunny in a Basket features a rare Played for Drama example where Mandy interprets the titular bunny, Pixie's symptoms as an extremely serious disease that can be prevented with a vaccine but commonly is a death risk if contracted; it's not until Pixie's owner, James's cousin Nadia, is in the process of taking Pixie on an emergency run to the vet that Mandy realizes that Pixie's been acting off simply because his teeth are overgrown, a simple to fix issue. She apologizes to Nadia but the other girl insists that she's grateful because now she can get Pixie vaccinated so the illness from Mandy's misdiagnosis is never a problem.
- A similar example appears in Husky with a Heart where Teal the ferret is initially suspected to have distemper, which prevents Mandy and James from visiting new friend Hannah's husky puppies as A) they're too young to be vaccinated and B) distemper could prove fatal if contracted at their current age. However, when Mandy has a "Eureka!" Moment involving James sneezing at the same time as Teal and commenting that it's too bad Teal doesn't just have a cold, her parents reexamine him and discover that Teal indeed just has a cold, which dogs can't contract.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Ponies at the Point, a local boy who loves the ponies and is bound and determined to see them stay free deliberately spooks the herd when he sees what appears to be someone rounding them up to sell them; too bad he's just prevented the Hopes from helping one of the herd's foals by getting the bridle that's cutting into her face and causing an infection that could kill her off.
- Not Helping Your Case: When Sam Western, a local who dislikes pretty much all wild animals, tries to defend pointing a rifle at Mandy in Cub in the Cupboard, he claims that she brought it on herself by refusing to drop the titular fox cub so he could shoot it; this only makes Dr. Adam Hope all the more furious.
- Not Me This Time: A variation occurs when Mrs. Ponsonby rushes into Animal Ark, insisting she needs to see the Hopes immediately; the assumption is that Pandora is "in need" of medical attention but not only is she in for Toby, her hardy mongrel, but he's legitimately injured, having had someone step on his paw hard enough to cause him to limp.
- Out Sick: In The Midnight Mouse, Jack has the flu and cannot stay at a hotel; his niece and her friend and both sets of parents end up staying instead.
- Someone to Remember Him By: At the end of Fox in the Frost, the vixen is revealed to be pregnant, which is bittersweet as her mate was shot by farmers earlier in the book.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: In Cub in the Cupboard, Dr. Adam is incredulous that Sam Western had any belief that Mandy would let him shoot any animal, let alone the fox cub she had been caring for for the past several days and that this somehow let him off the hook for threatening her with a rifle.
