Day 165: Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack

The name Hairy Maclary has been familiar to me for quite some time now, as it comes up again and again when I ask friends of the blog what their children are reading (and loving!) at the moment.  I also knew there was a series of books about him which are apparently rather popular, so I thought it kind of strange that I had never heard of or seen his stories before.  In fact, I thought that perhaps maybe this series was for older readers, which would explain why I had never come across it.  But no.  Hairy Maclary is a fabulously fun series of picture books from famed New Zealand author Lynley Dodd.  Why her books aren't more popular in the U.S., I have no idea.  Hairy Maclary is fantastic!  I finally remembered to look for one of his stories when we were at the library a while back, and lo and behold, there was one:  Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack.  Both of my children instantly loved this story, and I couldn't help but get a little carried away as I read it.  And really, how could I help it?  The rhymes are delightful -- I'm reminded of Dr. Seuss and Chris Van Dusen, at times -- and Dodd's use of onomatopoeia helps build energy and excitement in all the right ways throughout the story.   "It was drowsily warm, with dozens of bees lazily buzzing through flowers and trees.  Hairy Maclary decided to choose a space in the shade for his afternoon snooze. He dozily dreamed as he lay on his back when... pittery pattery, skittery scattery, ZIP round the corner came Zachary Quack."  This charming story of an unlikely (and at first, unrequited) friendship is great fun to read aloud and sure to delight young audiences.  I look forward to finding more of Dodd's books, though I might have my work cut out for me a bit.  There are only a handful of her stories in my greater library system, but we're looking forward to tracking them down and enjoying more of Hairy Maclary's adventures!