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June 1, 2026 by Betsy Bird 1 Comment

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

June 1, 2026 by Betsy Bird   1 comments

“I don’t hate these rhymes!” It’s a return to New Zealand today with a local classic that has long eluded our particular podcast. Will the little black terrier with the catchy name capture the hearts and minds of these Yankee sisters or will his charms elude them entirely? On this episode we discuss books that you have to practice reading aloud, why people give their dogs last names, and whether these specific doggy butts in this book were sanitized for American audiences.

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, Audible, Amazon Music, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

Show Notes:

If you had to describe a dog that was best described as a “bundle of hay”, what dog would you think of? In this case, it appears to be an English sheepdog. We would argue that it should have been named, “Muffin McClure … all covered in fur.”

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Behold the glory that is Schnitzel von Krumm! We have questions as to the origins of his family’s money, but not too many questions, of course…

Scarface Claw (who somehow got away with the name in spite of the fact that there are no scars on his face) is a dead ringer for Lucifer from Disney’s animated Cinderella film. Note too how the ears are made to look like little devil horn ears.

New Zealand we implore you! Is this how this image appears in your editions? Or were the anuses removed from the Americans? Confirmation one way or another, if you would be so good.

How big is this book in New Zealand? So big that someone made a mock version called (I kid you not) Zombie McCrombie from an Overturned Kombi.

And for the most in-depth analysis of this text, I refer you over to Slap Happy Larry’s post on the self-same topic.

Kate Recommends: The Ghost Women by Jennifer Murphy

Betsy Recommends: Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate

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Fuse 8 n' KateHairy Maclary from Donaldson's DairyLynley Dodd

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social

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Comments

  1. Daniel Meyer says

    June 1, 2026 at 5:22 am

    If I move to New Zealand, it will be mostly for political reasons, but also because I love the title of this book.

    Reply

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