Sadly, The Guardian ceased to publish its children's lit reviews last year. We're quick to criticise but not to applaude.So hopefully you'll find my reviews constructive but celebratory in tone. I'm genuinely worried that in the UK we don't celebrate our writers and illustrators (particularly the contemporary ones) enough. And books for toddlers.don't get me started (where's the discussion on these!). I'm the mum of 4 children (all under the age of 8) and I have found a dearth of reviews (from the UK) of books to read for this age category.It's as if there's a literary snobbery about reviewing for this age range, as if preschooler lit isn't worthy, or important enough. Not so much in this title, but in Hairy Maclary's Hat Tricks for example, ' The wind was so restless, it's buffets so strong, that it flapped him, and slapped him, and zapped him along.' Talk about helping to expand young children's vocabulary! Her writing is sumptuous, it feels nice on the tongue, enjoyable to read aloud. What I really like about Lynley Dodd's work, is her ability to find unusual rhymes and use uncouth words.
With lots of page turning and a high picture -to -word ratio this, The Hairy MacClary series, does seem to serve the youngest of children very well. Children over 4 tend to enjoy these books still, but always ask for more ( as they're quite short). Eventually clever Hairy Maclary gets that bone to himself.įrom 18 months- 4 years these books are fun, in-between a quick coffee, reads. He leads them on a wild goose chase across town, wherein each breeds' characteristic turn out to be their pitfall ( so for example, the long hair of English sheep dog Muffin McLay gets caught in the prickly hedge). Hairy Maclary, the rougish scruffy little dog, is a clever mutt who outwits the dogs following him ( they want his bone). To me Lynley Dodd has to be the queen of the rhyming couplet! Her books are so infectious, so memorable, I find myself thinking about 'Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum' whenever I see a sausage dog. Publisher: Puffin Books, 1986, This edition 2007
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