Scarface Claw

Hairy Maclary #14

by Lynley Dodd

Scarface Claw is a hilarious rhyming story by Lynley Dodd.

Big, bullying tom cat, Scarface Claw, Hairy Maclary's arch-enemy, is at the centre of this story. But like most bullies, Scarface turns out to be not quite as tough as he and the other animals think when he is scared by his own reflection.

Lynley Dodd is an award-winning author/illustrator who lives in New Zealand. She is enormously popular for her rhyming stories of the unforgettable HAIRY MACLARY and his friends. She worked as a teacher before beginning to write her own books in 1974.

Read all the Hairy Maclary and Friends books by Lynley Dodd!

Hairy Maclary's Bone; Hairy Maclary Scattercat; Hairy Maclary's Caterwaul Caper; Hairy Maclary's Rumpus at the Vet; Slinky Malinki; Hairy Maclary's Showbusiness; Slinky Malinki, Open the Door; Sniff-Snuff-Snap!; Schnitzel Von Krumm Forget-Me-Not; Slinky Malinki Catflaps; Slinky Malinki's Christmas Crackers; Hairy Maclary's Hat Tricks; Scarface Claw; Schnitzel Von Krumm, Dog's Never Climb Tress; Hairy Maclary, Sit; Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack; Magnet Fun with Hairy Maclary; Hairy Maclary, Shoo; Hairy Maclary and Friends Little Library; Slinky Malinki, Open the Door; Slinky Malinki Early Bird; Where is Hairy Maclary?; Sticker Fun with Hairy Maclary; My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Cats, Fiction, Poetry, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2002

About the author

Dame Lynley Dodd is an internationally celebrated writer for children whose titles are highly regarded and much loved by her readers in New Zealand and around the world. Her stories are known for their lively sound qualities, curious animal characters, and the memorable illustrations that accompany the text. Lynley has received numerous awards, both for her writing and illustration, and in 2002 she was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to children’s literature.

Lynley was a founding member of Bookrapt in 1983.

Reviews

[Preciosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and wonderful book right up until there were spiders and then it was scary and not so good. So um just skip those two pages and it’s great. (Guess that means a cat is braver than me except I’m not scared of what he’s scared of so maybe not)

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book:Scarface Claw
Read By:Hard Cover
Author: Lynley Dodd
Genre: Picture books, Children’s Books
Recommend: Yes
Amount of Pages 32
My feelings:

I really enjoy children books.
And read them to my kids every night. But one thing I don't do it review them.
Why I don't know, but I decided it was time to start.

There is something about the hairy mclary books that makes me laugh every time I read them. Its 38 and I still super enjoy reading these books to my kids. They ever get boring.

[Gloria Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book about the Toughest Tom in Town. :)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love these books in our house and read at least one of them a day.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarface Claw by Lynley Dodd, c. 2001.
Who is the roughest and toughest of cats? The boldest, the bravest, the fiercest of cats? Wicked of eye and fiendish of claw is mighty, magnificent Scarface Claw.
He isn't afraid of anything - well, maybe one thing. And your toddlers and early readers will explode in laughter when they find out what it is!
Scarface Claw is one of Hairy Maclary's friends (or rather enemies!) And there are several other characters in this series of books besides Hairy and Slinky:
Sausage dog, Schnitzel von Krumm with the very low tum,
and Zachary Quack, the duckling.
Great read-alouds with lots of repetition and rhyme, hilarious illustrations, and fun adventures await!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spending a day entertaining a baby and a three-year-old, Lynley Dodd is heaven sent. (I wish My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes was still in print - I lost my copy years ago.) We all adored Scarface Claw, almost as much as Slinky Malinki.

[Suresh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant caricature in animation once again and a great Achilles heel to the mighty Scarface.
I learnt from the Lilydale museum exhibition of Lynley Dodd's books that it takes her about a year to produce one book.

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarface Claw is the toughest cat in town and Hairy MacLary's nemesis. Terrorising the neighbourhood, nothing scares this fiesty Tom... except his own reflection! Another classic from the Hairy Maclary series.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss 2 loves it. Bonus for me that Scarface is not scared of the dark or of spiders!

[Kate Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little one loved this book and talked about it a lot in the weeks after reading it together. It's really cute hearing a 2 yr/o saying 'not a jittery jot' over and again. :)

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Scarface Claw” by Lynley Dodd
Scarface Claw "washes his whiskers/and goes back to sleep"
Tough!?! Almost! Great series

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta love Scarface Claw!

[Lauren Gulisane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband enjoyed this book immensely!

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tonight's goodnight story is Scarface Claw by Lynley Dodd. Dodd provides reliable toddler fodder.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love him. Always reminds me of Sophie.

[Kathleen Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children (6/7yrs) loved calling out ‘no!’ after the questions on each page, and thought the ending was hilarious.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss 2 loves this

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there anything that scares the cat who sends all the dogs in town running? Find out in this compelling book!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The star, for us, of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy was undoubtedly Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town, so we were delighted to discover that he has his own book. It quickly became a favourite as it documents the mighty moggy's fearlessness. We love cats and dogs in equal measure in our house but we reserve special respect for old Scarface who just "washes his whiskers/and goes back to sleep" when faced with the gang of lolloping and leaping dogs. Will nothing faze him? Get a copy and find out, it's priceless and will be enjoyed again and again as it quickly becomes a favourite in your house too!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarface is your typical bad boy tom. He's big; he's mean and he's territorial. He will growl and hiss at any cat and any dog (including the dogs from Hairy Maclarry from Donaldson's Dairy). Scarface isn't scared of anyone... except... himself!

Scarface has more of Dodd's humor and adorable illustrations. Scarface while scary to the dogs and cats of the story is rather cute in all his posturing. He's probably a big old lap cat when he's down prowling at the end of the day.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love the Claw? The terror for poor Hairy Maclary. Another wonderful Dodd with pictures to match. A great cat book about our favourite cat. Rhyming, helpful easy words and classic NZ Dodd style.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love these books in our house, and Scarface Claw is no exception. The rhythm of the rich language keeps the boys engaged, and the pictures are delightful. The boys love that Scarface isn't scared of anything, except his own reflection.

[Karen Dransfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarface Claw is the meanest toughest cat all around. It tells the tale of Scarface going about his daily things. Great story for kids. I'm going to use it for my painting class on Friday as their inspiration.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to read this once a day....

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Love Lynley Dodd's books. Great children's stories.

[Emkoshka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The toughest cat on the block isn't afraid of anything ... except perhaps himself! Love the illustration of Scarface sitting alone in the dark.

[Cemeread]

Love this series of cat books.

[Shahrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally an introduction to the cat behind the legend... Meet Scarface Claw! Thin in words, but it think the illustrations make up for that.