Like all of Dodd's books, Dogs Never Climb Trees drew us in with appealing illustrations and engaging rhymes. The animals in this series, unlike the creatures of Beatrix Potter's stories, are not given human thoughts and motives, their actions tell the stories, and reflect their animal natures. As well as being a visual delight, these are some of the most rewarding books for children and adults to read out loud. The original has very little character development, beyond the face-value expectations of each of the dog breeds.

There is a segment of text which appears frequently and reads, “He can hustle and tease with the greatest of ease, but everyone knows that dogs NEVER climb trees. Although the books are designed to entertain young children, they are not intended as "early readers", as are, for example, the " Cat in the Hat" books by Dr. The character Hairy Maclary made his first appearance in 1983 in the book titled Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. The Hairy Maclary books, despite their simple stories, introduce the listening child to some long but very expressive words, which are not part of the average preschooler vocabulary but must be understood by the child in the context in which they occur. The breeds of dogs, the types of houses and the plants growing in each garden can generally be identified.With his large bright eyes, long legs, finely boned thin frame and snaky tail, he is definitely part greyhound. For example, the noise made by a stranded cat and the excited dogs who discover it is described as a "cacophony".

Due to the easy nature of the rhyming words, I feel young children up to the age of six/seven would benefit from this book. She began to work as a freelance illustrator and collaborated with author Eve Sutton on My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes. Hairy Maclary's adventures are usually in the company of his other dog friends who include the Dachshund Schnitzel von Krumm, the Dalmatian Bottomley Potts, the Greyhound Bitzer Maloney, the English Mastiff Hercules Morse and the Old English Sheepdog Muffin McLay. Hairy Maclary's home, for example, has a red corrugated iron roof supported on wooden brackets, and the garden has a frangipani tree, a picket fence and a row of agapanthi.However, the illustration shows he has accumulated a number of household items such as cushions and a potted plant, while leaving a lovely trail of muddy paw prints on the carpet. Check out the activity pack for more adventures with Hairy Maclary and his friends: Hercules Morse, Bottomley Potts, Muffin McLay, Bitzer Maloney and Schnitzel von Krumm. First published in 1983, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by New Zealand author Dame Lynley Dodd has become a classic bedtime storybook for Aussie and Kiwi kids. Easy language good for beginners with some help, with the repetitive word style synominous with Dodd, and her lovely artwork about the things out pets get up to.