Lynley Dodd is an award-winning author/illustrator who lives in New Zealand. She is enormously popular for her rhyming stories of the unforgettable HAIRY MACLARY and his friends. She worked as a teacher before beginning to write her own books in 1974. Although the books are designed to entertain young children, they are not intended as "early readers", as are, for example, the " Cat in the Hat" books by Dr. Seuss which have a very basic and largely phonic vocabulary. The Hairy Maclary books, despite their simple stories, introduce the listening child to some long but very expressive words, which are not part of the average preschooler vocabulary but must be understood by the child in the context in which they occur. For example, the noise made by a stranded cat and the excited dogs who discover it is described as a "cacophony".

Well, to be fair, Hairy’s clearly got a bit of Scottish terrier in him. Then there are the names: Maclary, Muffin McClay, Grizzly MacDuff. OK, Dodd said, but then there’s Schnitzel von Krumm, he of the very low tum. I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together. Hairy Maclary's adventures are usually in the company of his other dog friends who include the Dachshund Schnitzel von Krumm, the Dalmatian Bottomley Potts, the Greyhound Bitzer Maloney, the English Mastiff Hercules Morse and the Old English Sheepdog Muffin McLay. The series also features cats Scarface Claw, their formidable opponent, and Slinky Malinki. My wife and I both like dogs - which probably helps us enjoy this one! We don't have a dog at the moment (we have three cats) but we're currently planning to get a puppy for Fin's 5th birthday. If anyone's interested, we're hoping to get a Toller retriever. They're cute, huh?This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( January 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The character Hairy Maclary made his first appearance in 1983 in the book titled Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. [1] He is the protagonist in twelve books in the series, and there are a further nine books about his friends. [1] This beautiful gold 40th-birthday edition of the bestselling Hairy Maclary Treasury is a complete collection of Hairy Maclary's adventures, and includes a reading of the stories by Lynley Dodd.

Explore with the children Scottish stories they may already know. Have they read The Gruffalo, Katie Morag or the Hairy Maclary series? Younger children may prefer to start engaging with the story and discuss this afterwards." This book is excellent for introducing rhyming words, and repetition. All of the dogs have rhyming names, and a phrase describing them. As Hairy Maclary meets another dog, they are all added to a long list, which encourages children to repeat the names and remember the rhymes and alliteration. The fun names are silly and purposefully long, which is more enjoyable for children to hear and repeat. Hairy Maclary books are designed to be read by an adult to a child. The plots are simple, keeping with the comprehension-level of the age group for which they are written. They generally involve Hairy and his friends in adventurous scenarios pitched against local cats. The animals in this series, unlike the creatures of Beatrix Potter's stories, are not given human thoughts and motives, their actions tell the stories, and reflect their animal natures. The pics are very cute and reading the rhymes aloud made me smile. Finley (my kiddo) is still too young to really appreciate it, but we've made the bedtime story a sacrosanct part of our routine since he was born, so at the moment it's more about which books we like more.

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Hairy Maclary felt bumptious and bustly, bossy and bouncy and frisky and hustly" Hairy Maclary, everyone's favourite dog, is busy chasing and hustling all the neighbourhood cats from Slinky Malinki to Pimpernel Pugh. But when he comes face to face with Scarface Claw, the toughest tomcat in town, it's Hairy Maclary's turn to be bustled, rustled and hustled Sculpture of Hairy Maclary and other characters from the books in Tauranga, New Zealand on the waterfront

In the Literacy and English Activities section under the 'Sharing Scottish stories heading, parents are urged to: "Explain to the children that the special thing about the story you are going to read/listen to is that it is Scottish. Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list. Lynley Dodd is New Zealand's bestselling children's author/illustrator and has an international following. She worked as a teacher before beginning to write her own books in 1974 and has published over twenty brilliant stories about Hairy Maclary, Slinky Malinki, Scarface Claw and lots of other memorable characters. Lynley lives with her husband and cat in New Zealand. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy is a fabulous book full of rhyme, repetition and rhythm – and funny animals! The book tells the story of scruffy dog Hairy Maclary meeting up with different dog friends who are all out for a walk. The dogs are all fantastically described, being all different shapes and sizes and are given fun, imaginative names. Each dog is happy to be outside, sniffing the air and snooping at every door, when suddenly they encounter Scarface Claw, the toughest Tom in town. This causes all of the dogs to run home in a scatter, a wail and a howl. This books helps children identify rhyme and create their own. It provides them with an opportunity to learn a poem, a chance to make sound effects for Scarface Claw and create a change in tempo when they all run home to bed!

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Hairy Maclary and Friends is a series of children's picture books created by New Zealand author and illustrator Dame Lynley Dodd. The popular series has sold over five million copies worldwide. [1]

The funny thing about reviewing toddler books is that you could easily use more words in the review than there are in the book itself! You just can't go wrong with anything written by Lynley Dodd. Truly, the humour, the joy, the rhythm, rhyme and pattern all help to make the dogs heading for Donaldson's Dairy memorable, engaging and hugely entertaining. It was my son's first birthday last week and the boy got so many presents we're struggling to find space for them in our little house! But in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, author Dame Lynley Dodd, who has Scottish ancestry, confirmed the book and the dog who stars in it are actually from New Zealand.

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With cumulative rhymes and sunny ink and watercolor illustrations, this international favorite chronicles the escapades of our hero Hairy and his crew of five kooky canines. Here every dog-from big-as-a-horse Hercules Morse to Schnitzel von Krumm with the very low tum-tries to have his day with HAIRY MACLARY'S BONE, but guess who triumphs! The other thing about reading these books many many times is the mind starts to get a bit 'beautiful' about it. I've started to make inferences about the owners of each pup involved in this story based on the dog and the brief snippet of front gate we get for each introduction. Worse I've started asking more questions, why are there so few people in this town? Why is Ms Plum always the hero, is she the local busybody, or town hero, maybe she's the only non-pet owner in town? Has Hairy ever caused such mayhem? Thank goodness for Miss Plum, who once again steps in to save the day! What could be causing the caterwauling cacophony that brings Hairy Maclary and his friends running? Sniffles and snuffles and doses of flu - itches and stitches and tummyache too ..." Hairy Maclary is waiting to see the vet with lots of other pets. Then something happens to turn the waiting room into a kerfuffling scramble of paws, a tangle of bodies and a jumble of jaws ...what can be the matter? Another rumbustious, rhyming romp with Hairy Maclary (from 'Donaldson'd Dairy!') and friends!