Hairy Maclary’s Hullabaloo by Lynley Dodd

Who can resist barking like a dog, buzzing like a bee, or oinking like a pig? Hairy Maclary’s Hullabaloo provides a great opportunity to share all sorts of animal sounds with your favourite little person.

This hard-cover board book features all the favourite Hairy Maclary characters at their raucous, colourful best. Which one of them is making that shrill WROWWW-W-W-W-W-W-W noise? And where are they hiding? You’ll need to lift the flaps to find out! There’s an element of suspense before the culprit is revealed on the very last page.

The book is larger than similar books and the sturdy flaps are just the right size for little fingers. The storyline is simple and the question-and-answer format will encourage a response from even the youngest child. The page borders provide an easy way to introduce the names of colours.  

As well as familiar characters, other creatures make an appearance – including a smiling hissing snake and a snorting zebra. (Though it’s up to us to imagine the sound effects coming from the bus full of lively schoolchildren zooming past a paddock of cows.)

An ideal introduction to the Hairy Maclary world for very young children.

Reviewer: Anne Kerslake Hendricks

Penguin Random House