Author | Lynley Dodd |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Hairy Maclary |
Genre | Children's book |
Publisher | Mallinson Rendel Publishers Limited |
Publication date | 1983 |
Publication place | New Zealand |
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. 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:
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]