Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
Puffin, 2010. ISBN: 9780143504450. 34pp., board book.
Remember this ? "Out of the gate and off for a walk went Hairy
Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy." And by the time you got to the end
of the book he had been joined by his mates Hercules Morse (as big
as a horse); Bottomley Potts (covered in spots); Muffin McLay (like
a bundle of hay); Bitzer Maloney (all skinny and bony); and
Schnitzel von Krumm (with a very low tum). How proud and posh they
were until they met .
Almost every child born in New Zealand or Australia in the last 30
years knows what happens next! Who could bring down such a bold band
of brothers? Children love the sound of the rhythmic and rhyming
language and the repetition of the characters on each page which
make it a perfect read-aloud as your listeners will be joining in
and eagerly anticipating who will join this canine crew., as well as
enjoying the pictures which work with the text perfectly, as they
should. The board book format makes it perfect for little hands,
ensuring that this will be much-loved by this generation as those
before.
And it is fitting that on the 5th anniversary of forgoing a trip to
Hobbiton in favour of finding the sculpture to this remarkable dog
and his mates on Tauranga in the pouring rain, that it is time to
remind our new parents of this classic series so another generation
can be as enchanted with him as all those of the last 30 years.
Barbara Braxton