Lynley Dodd Hairy Maclary and Friends Series 10 Books Collection Set

Product Information

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

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. Has Hairy ever caused such mayhem? Thank goodness for Miss Plum, who once again steps in to save the day! 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.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.

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". What could be causing the caterwauling cacophony that brings Hairy Maclary and his friends running? 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. 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.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. 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. 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? 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.

Sculpture of Hairy Maclary and other characters from the books in Tauranga, New Zealand on the waterfront 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."

Creative Play

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? 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! Hairy Maclary, who lived at Donaldson's Dairy, is joined by his friends, Hercules Morse, a dog who was 'as big as a horse', Bottomley Potts, a Dalmatian who was, not surprisingly, 'covered in spots', Muffin McLay, a cute little dog who was 'like a bundle of hay', Blitzer Malone, a Greyhound 'all skinny and bony', Schnizel von Krumm, a Dachshund with 'a very low tum', went together for a walk past the shops and the park into town.