Animal Ark: Foals in the Field by Ben M. Baglio

Rating: Not for me

Reading level: Mid-late Elementary

Mandy, the main character lies, deceives, and disobeys to help the animal cause:

• Skips school and lies to her friend in an attempt to change the fate of an old farm
• Doesn’t tell her parents when she goes on a trip to try to save the day
• Gets her friend to lie on her behalf
• Runs into an unsafe building after specifically being told not to go because it is not safe.
• Deceives an out-of-town couple of visitors by giving bad directions and faking emergencies.

Unfortunately, this kind of poor ethics is often the case with books about girls who love animals, and it is justified because their heart is in the right place. But I think we want our kids to see models that seek help and wisdom from parents instead of deceiving them on the claim that they don’t care enough or just don’t understand how important it is.

Finally, I disagree with the series punchline:

• Animal Ark: Where Animals Come First

Animals should be cared for, but I’m not sure if it’s theologically correct for them to come first–namely above people.