Customer Reviews

Lamb in the Laundry (Animal Ark Series #12)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Spillers have moved into a run-down farm outside of town and are looking for a way to turn it into a working farm--a seemingly impossible task. When Mandy and James offer to help out with the lambing, they don't know what they're getting themselves into! On the hill, Mandy witnesses a newborn lamb being abandoned by its mother. As always, Mandy is determined to help the little animal. But a newborn lamb needs a lot of care--and the Spillers don't have any spare time for nursing lambs. But Mandy's not giving up. Still, as soon as she seems to have found a home for the lamb he disappears! Then little Jenny Spiller is badly injusred when an abandoned shed collapses on her, and has to be rushed to the hospital. Everyone is so glad Jenny is going to recover. But something is terribly wrong with Jenny. Until Jenny reveals a secret of her own... Now Mandy has to save the lamb...and the hospital! (The cottage hospital is going to be closed down soon--but not if Mandy's Grandma has anything to say about it! But, despite all her and Mandy's campaigning, it's not looking good for the old hospital.)
There are so many subplots in this book!!!

You can see plot summaries in the other reviews. I'll give the mom's express notes version. My children have a few of the books in this series: Kitten in the Kitchen, for example. I like them. They are well written, and the older or adult reader can see how the information is presented in stages. Characters are introduced, and then their relationships explained, and their last names given, all in a fairly graceful manner. The books have simple but realistic settings and descriptions, and palatable amounts of educational material. You can learn something from each book without feeling that you are being "taught."

I think these are sweet and engaging books for the younger independent readers. The paragraphs are generally quite short, and there are black and white illustrations. My fourth grader is reading this, and while I wish he were reading more challenging material, I do think that these books are a nice stepping stone. There is a lot of dreck in the YA market these days, but these seem good so far. I am pleased and will encourage my son to read more of them. I think that many children who really enjoy these Animal Ark books would love the James Herriot books, such as "All Things Bright and Beautiful."

If you or yours like this book, I would also recommend the old classic Billy and Blaze books by C.W. Anderson. Unfortunately a lot of the other books I remember so fondly are now too "dated" for the Nintendo set (Kipling, for example). One way that I do get him to take in some of the classics, though, is by reading them aloud at bedtime: We have read The Little Lame Prince, and are working our way through the Narnia books (although I think there is a lot of British vocabulary that he is not getting). We have also enjoyed reading a couple of the Danny Dunn books by Jay Williams. While my older son was reading Harry Potter in second grade, I think, this child enjoys more practical stories, and they can be a little harder to find. Or so it seems.

Good luck and keep reading! If you enjoyed this review, please check the box. Thank you very much.

A black baby sheep, the littlest of two born, was abandoned by her mom. Mandy, who lives on a farm, and James Mandy's friend, tried to get the mother to feed th black sheep. The mom ewe refused. Mandy and James brought the baby sheep back to the farm. The baby was very weak. They gave the baby warm milk and kept him warm. The baby grew stronger. It walked a few days later on its own. It took a lot of the and effort suddenly when the lamb gets healthy it then suddenly disappeared. Who took the baby lamb? And why did they take the lamb? It's a sad story and a dangerous one because after the mother refuses to take care of the little baby, the baby lamb gets sick. I think that little kids could read this book because it is so easy to read. I think Ms. Hexum should read the book to her new baby because it is about two kids saving a little black lamb. The autors's style is easy reading. The pictures do a good job of showing what each chapter is about.

The Spillers have moved into a run-down farm outside of town and are looking for a way to turn it into a working farm--a semingly impossible task. When Mandy and James offer to help out with the lambing, they don't know what they're getting themselves into! On the hill, Mandy witnesses a newborn lamb being abandoned by its mother. As always, Mandy is determined to help the little animal. But a newborn lamb needs a lot of care--and the Spillers don't have any spare time for nursing lambs. But Mandy's not giving up. Still, as soon as she seems to have found a home for the lamb he disappears! Then little Jenny Spiller is badly injusred when an abandoned shed collapses on her, and has to be rushed to the hospital. Everyone is so glad Jenny is going to recover. But something is terribly wrong with Jenny. Until Jenny reveals a secret of her own... Now Mandy has to save the lamb...and the hospital! (The cottage hospital is going to be closed down soon--but not if Mandy's Grandma has anything to say about it! But, despite all her and Mandy's campaigning, it's not looking good for the old hospital.)

This book is about a girl named Mandy and her brother James. Their dad owns a veterinarians office, so they love animals. One day, they decided to help out on some family friends (Mr. and Mrs. Spiller and their six year old daughter Jenny's)farm to help lambing. One Sheep had a baby ewe, but the ewe was neglected by her mother. Shortly after, Jenny got trapped under a collapsed shed. She desperately needed a blood transfusion, since she lost lots of blood from her neck. She was rushed to the ER right on time! But there was only one problem, Blackie (the Ewe) was missing! Jenny quickly revealed that Blackie was still under the shed! Mandy quickly ran back to the farm to rescue her. Blackie was weak from being under the shed for so long, but she finally regains health. But in the end, they posed for a picture, and they became the logo for Mandy's dads vet.
This book is good, but I think it is a little childish and straight-forward for me. I would recommend this book to someone under 8.

I am very dissatified with VFM Books. I ordered my book and never received it or a e-mail from VFM Books as to where my order was. On Dec 26th I e-mailed for a response as to where my book was and when I would received. I e-mailed again three days later with the same request or when I would receive my refund. I received a e-mail from Amazon.com that a refund check was on it way from VFM Books. I have never received a reply from VFM Books about my concerns. With this kind of service I will never order again from this company or recommand it to my friends.

Mandy and James are helping with the lambing. It is hard work . One of the sheep has twins one white sheep and one black sheep. She starts feeding the white one but just leaves the black one there. Mr. Spiller wife has a baby and has no time for a tiny little lamb. So Mandy and James are going to give it to Mandy's Gran. But Jenny (Mr. Spillers daughter) hides him and Mandy and James Don't know. But when Jenny was hiding the lamb the shed caved in and she had to be rushed to the cottage hospital to have a blood transfusion. But the lamb is still stuck in the shed. Jenny tells Mandy where she put it and they find it and bring it to her and she recovered really fast.

Mandy and James meet a little girl named Jenny who has become friends with an abandoned black lamb. Then Jenny does the unspeakable and gets trapped in an abandoned shed. Will the sheep be able to get help before it's too late for Jenny?