My daughter quite some time ago was given a set of Hairy Maclary books which she really loves, I looked for other books within the series but found that many of them you cannot get hold of anymore so when we came across this book in the library she was very excited. Book Information The book is written and illustrated by Lynley Dodd who was born in 1941 in New Zealand. Her first book was My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes in 1973 and the first Hairy Maclary book was published in 1983, the Hairy Maclary series has a great number of books along with singular books written about some of the accompanying characters from the series. This book can be ...  Read the complete review

I have been very blessed recently to enjoy my Saturday evenings with the most handsome young man that I know, even getting a cuddle before bed. No, I have not been dating but instead (and it's far more fun) I have been babysitting my nephew. What a delight. Until bed time. Knowing mummy and daddy, for the first night at least, were not in really set the little fellow off. What to do. Now. I remember reading these to many of the children I have looked after and been a nanny for and I know that some good old Hairy Maclary never fails. I sat down with small fry for a bed time read and this time we opted for Scarface Claw. Now, without any spoilers for mummies and ...  Read the complete review

Looking at these books makes me a little sad that my own children are now too old to want to be read to at night. I loved reading the Lynley Dodd books to them. We bought our first one in New Zealand on the recommendation of a friend, and have since bought all the others we could lay our hands on. They are now threadbare from being read so often, but are among the few books that I will carefully store away in the hope of reading them to grandchildren one day! Scarface Claw is a particularly fun story to read if you enjoy putting on funny voices to entertain little ones. The animals are drawn with real character and, as in all her stories, the words read ...  Read the complete review

Having several younger siblings with reading homework often leads to disaster, as I don't want to hear the same book over and over, and they just don't want to read. This book is beautifully illustrated and the regular rhyme pattern both amuses my little sister and gives something of a rhythm to a book. This is especially helpful given her tendency to read one word at a time as the rhythm set seems to make her reading flow more. Advantages: -Encourages them to read sentences rather than individual words. -The rhyme pattern seems to encourage them to read a little faster. -The pictures are simple but look good. -The story makes sense and the ...  Read the complete review

When my daughter first recieved this book I was quite sceptical as the wording seemed too difficult for a young child to understand and enjoy. I put it aside thinking i would read it to her when she was a little older. Next time i was at her nursery however, my daughter pulled out another book from these series and asked me to read Hairy Mclairy to her. I was taken aback but i obliged. Wow! Only when read aloud i think can you really appreciate the rhyme and humour in this story. Both, my daughter and I were smiling by the end of it. It inspired alot of discussion afterwards aswell. Needless to say when i came home and showed her this book, she was superexcited and asked  Read the complete review