Lynley Dodd’s Hairy Maclary trots though the door

Doesn’t everyone just love Hairy Maclary and his band of adventurous,rascally and rapscallion friends?

I’m sure many of us have shared these beginning words many, many times-

“Out of the gate and off for a walk went….”

I think this phrase is now embedded in our New Zealand and Australian story language and probably world wide.

Picture Books like these with clever, patterned, imaginative language easily grow children’s thinking,vocabulary and understanding of how words and sentences work.All essential early literacy skills .

Talented Dame Lynley Dodd’s creations have trotted though the doors of the NSW State library for the Sydney summer.

Follow the paw prints from here…

Follow the paw prints past the book display,

Up the stairs…

Along the corridor…

Nearly there…hurry along!

to 4 rooms of fun,action and fascination.

Each room has something to do, and many things to look at- for all ages.

Room 1:

• Find out about Lynley’s early life, including one of her first books “My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes” with her cousin Eve Sutton(Puffin books).These cats have character!
• Attempt a jigsaw on the computers
• Sit together on the red and white toadstools to watch a story.

Room 2:

• Search for some of the characters in Lynley’s books on the walls.
• Colour in your own page with Hairy Maclary and hang it on the wall, or share it with the library
  @statelibrarynsw

Room 3:

• Use the iPads to colour in some pictures of Hairy Maclary and his friends .( “We can paint!” said a little girl excitedly, who already knew the names of all the characters on her screen.)
• Find some more bookish scenes from Lynley’s long career on the walls.Did you know her first solo book was  a counting book “The Nickle Nackle Tree ( Penguin NZ)…” Count up some fabulous Lynley Dodd creations, such as one Ballyhoo bird, kicking up a din and two squawking Scritchet birds with legs so twiggy thin, to nine friendly Natter birds, building nice new nests to ten fussy Fissick birds in yellow feathered vests.”( credit Penguin NZ website)
• 

Room 4:

• Lounge on the brightly coloured beanbags with your family and share some books together.
• Find details of more activities for the exhibition.
• Pick up a booklet and search for Hairy Maclary through the library.

This is an interactive and fun exhibition for the whole family – something for adults and children.

All the families I saw were immersed in activities and many reading together!

I think it’s particularly good for younger children, with appropriate age based activities.It also helps with kids understanding how illustrations and words work together.( important when they start learning to read at school).

I just loved it as an adult on my own as well, and found the pathway of an illustrator and author fascinating.

A clever touch- introducing kids to the library by using a booklet to find Hairy Maclary around the library.

The exhibition is FREE and on until 15 March 2015.

Lynley Dodd, a Retrospective.

Exhibition rooms , Level 1 , Mitchell Library.

StateLibrary NSW.

Enter from Macquarie St entrance.

Slinky Malinki and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy ( read by Mrs Mac online) are in our 100 Stories Before School booklist.(  It was vey hard to choose).We also love Slinky Malinky Open the Door “causing mayhem” with Syd the Lorikeet ( a little like our 100 Stories cheeky lorikeet mascot).

Hairy Maclary by Mrs Mac Wodonga library.

Find our booklist here.

Check out the next  blog for more ideas and links for Lynley’s books.

Here’s a special one to start with…

• http://www.hairymaclary.com-party ideas, colouring in sheets- mazes, big and small, spot the difference and more.