Hairy Maclary from Donaldson Dairy

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy 

We love Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy. This book is the first of a series in which we follow Hairy Maclary on his little adventures. He doesn’t do anything unusual or untoward, he is just your average puppy who is a bit too curious. In this first Hairy Maclary book we meet Hairy and his canine friends.

We didn’t know about Hairy until we were gifted one of his books from my son’s daycare. From that day on we became firm followers of Hairy’s adventures.

The whole Hairy Maclary series is included on the NSW Premier Reading Challenge list.

Book 8 of the PRC: Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy 

The Plot

To be honest I am not sure what breed this little black dog is. He’s small and shaggy and seems very curious.

In Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, Hairy goes out for a little walk picking up his friends along the way. There is:

  • Hercules Morse (as big as a horse).
  • Bitzer Maloney (all skinny and boney)
  • Muffin McLay (like a bundle of hay)
  • Bottomley Potts (all covered in spots)
  • Little Schnitzel von Krumm (with the very low tum)

The walk comes to and end when Hairy and his friends meet their fierce opponent – Scarface Claw. Upon this meeting all the dogs turn around go back home.

 

We love Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy. This book is the first of a series in which we follow Hairy Maclary on his little adventures. He doesn't do anything unusual or untoward, he is just your average puppy who is a bit too curious.

The Book Itself

On each double page you have writing and a picture depicting what is going on. It’s this type of structure that makes it great for little ones to listen to. The plot is also really easy to follow.

While the book is written in rhythmic verse like Julia Donaldson and Dr Suess not all the words are simple or easy. The book introduces some very complicated words. While this means your child won’t be able to read that word it does help extend your child’s vocabulary.

The pictures of Hairy Mclary from Donaldson’s Dairy and his friends are more lifelike than the other books we have read. Often the kids will shout out when they see a dog they recognize from one of these books.

 

We love Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy. This book is the first of a series in which we follow Hairy Maclary on his little adventures. He doesn't do anything unusual or untoward, he is just your average puppy who is a bit too curious.

Our booklist

 

At this stage of the challenge, we have also read: Check on Me, The Bicycle, A Squash and a Squeeze. For more details on each book and in order to help you decide whether you want to add it to your list, just click on the name of the book and it should take you to the full review.

 

NSW Premier Reading Challenge

If you don’t know about the NSW Premier Reading Challenge, it is an initiative by the department of education to promote literacy and reading. It is not a competition!

There is an extensive list of books on the website from which you choose the number of books you have to read. We have to read 30 because my son is in the K – Year 2 Challenge.

Once we read our book we add it to our booklist and if we get to 30 we get a certificate from the Premier.

You can find out more from the NSW PRC Website. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 thoughts on “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson Dairy

    1. That’s incredible. I didn’t know that. I’m definitely going to check that out. The kids will love it.

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