 | |
| Author | Lynley Dodd |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Hairy Maclary |
| Genre | Children's book |
| Publisher | Mallinson Rendel Publishers Limited |
Publication date | 1983 |
| Publication place | New Zealand |
| Pages |
|
| ISBN | 978-0-14-330615-3 |
| Followed by | Hairy Maclary's Bone |
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy [1] first published in 1983, is the first and most well-known of a series of books by New Zealand author Lynley Dodd featuring Hairy Maclary. [2] His adventures are usually in the company of his other dog friends including the Dachshund Schnitzel Von Krumm. His arch-enemy is the tomcat Scarface Claw.
Written for pre-school children, it has become a classic bedtime storybook in New Zealand and Australia, [3] [4] [5] and Lynley Dodd's books, including this one, dominate the children's section of the Premier New Zealand Bestsellers list.[ citation needed ]
The order of introduction of the dogs (with their house number in brackets) is:
- Hairy Maclary (from Donaldson's Dairy), a Scottish Terrier, (60) [6]
- Hercules Morse (as big as a horse), an English Mastiff, (54)
- Bottomley Potts (covered in spots), a Dalmatian, (52)
- Muffin McLay (like a bundle of hay), an Old English Sheepdog, (48)
- Bitzer Maloney (all skinny and bony), a Greyhound, (36) [7]
- Schnitzel Von Krumm (with a very low tum), a Dachshund, (22)
The story follows the assembly of a pack of dogs going to the park, and ends when they're all scared off by a fearsome cat – Scarface Claw.
Like most of Dodd's books, it is written in anapaestic verse, though it breaks into a more urgent trochaic form when the dogs encounter the cat.
It has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and been translated into Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Russian, Slovene [8] [9] – and te reo Māori. [10] It has also been adapted into a stage play, which has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Sydney Opera House. [11]
In the 2019 TVNZ series Goodnight Kiwi , Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern read Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. The episode aired on TVNZ 2 on Christmas Day. [12] [13]
