Hairy Maclary's rumpus at the vet (Gold star first readers) - Hardcover

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PreSchool-Grade 1-- Hairy Maclary, a small black dog, has his tail nipped by a caged cockatoo and, leaping up, precipitates a lighthearted pet riot in the veterinarian's waiting room. Lively watercolor and ink illustrations are carefully coordinated with a brief, rhymed text. Realistic yet simplified paintings completely fill each left-hand page and face a right-hand page devoted exclusively to text. The animated feeling of these paintings is derived more from expressive animal faces than from a sense of motion. The animals are well observed and neatly individualized. The use of language is delightful, being musical, playful, and colorful. The print is large and appropriate for beginning readers, but the vocabulary may prove intimidating to those same readers. This reads aloud well; however, previous books about Hairy Maclary are stronger as this story is a bit muddled. The vet enters to restore peace to her waiting room, but it is never clear that she succeeds before the punchline, which indicates that the rumpus is about to start anew. --Cynthia Bishop, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here's a rumpus, indeed: this beleaguered vet's office may never fully recover from the chaos that ensues when Cassie the cockatoo plucks a hair from the hide of Hairy Maclary ("from Donaldson's Dairy"). This mischievous deed sets in motion a rambunctious, rhyming riot, as various ailing pets all decide to forgo their restraints and cavort in grand fashion. And just as some semblance of order is about to be restored, the culprit seems ready to strike again. This extended poem forms the basis for that relatively rare commodity, a book that tickles the funnybones of parents and children alike. With its amusing alliteration, fanciful names (Noodle the poodle; Barnacle Beasley, the sore and sorely vexed beagle; "The Poppadum kittens from Parkinson Place") and rapid-fire delivery, Dodd's nonsense verse follows quite nicely in the grand tradition of Messrs. Nash and Lear. The pictures are amiably animated and suitably silly, but watch those wonderful waggish words. Ages 5-7.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.