Scarface Claw is having a nap in the sun; it’s warm and he’s feeling lazy. All in all, an idyllic day – but then, the ground under him starts to move… Cue a fur-raising adventure through the town on top of a car. People are pointing, and Scarface Claw has no choice but to hold on tight!
Who hasn’t started the car and driven away with something on top? Whether it is a pair of sunglasses…. Or a cat… This sounds like a Kiwi summer! Rescue even comes in the form of a New Zealand police car.
Chances are you are familiar with the tales of Hairy Maclary and his lovable gang of neighourhood cats and dogs, especially if you have been a parent or a child in New Zealand in the last forty years. Lynley Dodd is a national treasure and her books are tried and true. Scarface Claw’s latest adventure was in the NZ Listener’s top 50 children’s books of 2017, and is now newly published as a board book to make it an ideal read for smaller fingers. And Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! had this reviewer laughing out loud despite the fact that she is older than the book’s intended audience.
Scarface Claw comes alive in the illustrations. His shocked looks of surprise and grumpy face once he is rescued will have you in giggles. This iconic cat deserves all the fame of Hairy Maclary and his lot. A worthy addition to the set!
Reviewer: Susannah Whaley
Penguin Random House, $12.99