

Today, Lynley is a big fan of Quentin Blake 'because of his humour and very clever art work. It comes as no surprise that, as a child, she adored Dr Seuss because of his 'crazy sounds and the fact that he took such liberties with the English language.' Other favourite authors included A A Milne and the fairy tales of The Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen.

As well as being a visual delight, these are some of the most rewarding books for children and adults to read out loud.

Exuberant artwork and bouncy rhymes come together perfectly in books like Slinky Malinki and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. There was no looking back as Lynley went on to write and illustrate her own books for children. She began to work as a freelance illustrator and collaborated with author Eve Sutton on My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes. She went on to teach art before taking a break to start a family. She worked as a teacher before beginning to write her own books in 1974.Lynley Dodd graduated from the Elam School of Art in Auckland with a diploma in Fine Arts, majoring in sculpture. She is enormously popular for her rhyming stories of the unforgettable HAIRY MACLARY and his friends. Lynley Dodd is an award-winning author/illustrator who lives in New Zealand. Scarface slopes off and Slinky Malinki invites his friends home to sit in front of the fire, hobnobbing happily, ten in a row. The cats hiss and yowl until all the neighbours complain.

Hobnobbing happily on the wall,ten in a row, the cats are disturbed by the crotchety Scarface Claw. He’s soon joined by his friends Greywacke Jones, Butterball Brown, the Poppadum kittens and the rest of the gang. Slinky Malinki wakes from a cosy sleep, stretches and slips out through the catflap and into the night. Their romp through the house leaves quite a trail of destruction and messes behind. Slinky Malinki can open doors, and he uses this skill to get into rooms he and Syd are probably not allowed to play in usually. Slinky Malinki Catflaps is a hilarious rhyming story by Lynley Dodd. Slinky Malinki and pal Stickybeak Syd are every pet owners worst nightmare, and the delight of imaginative kids.
