Lynley Dodd
Dame Lynley Stuart Dodd (born 5 July 1941) is a New Zealand children's book author and illustrator. She is best known for her "Hairy Maclary and Friends" series, and its follow-ups, all of which feature animals with rhyming names and have sold over five million copies worldwide. In 1999, Dodd received the Margaret Mahy Award. She was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2002 New Year Honours, redesignated as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009. Life and career. Dodd an only child was  born in Rotorua. Dodd lived with her parents in Kaingaroa Forest, near Taupo. She was educated at Iwitahi School and Tauranga College. Dodd graduated from the Elam School of Art in Auckland with a diploma in Fine Arts. She met her late husband Tony in Wellington. her husband Tony died in 2014 after an illness. Dodd lived in Tauranga. Dodd became an art teacher spending five years teaching at Queen Margaret College in Wellington. She began to work as a freelance illustrator. Her first book was "My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes" which she wrote along with Eve Sutton . Her first book written solo was "The Nickle Nackle Tree". In 2005 "The Other Ark" won the Children’s Choice Award at the New Zealand Post Book Awards. In 1983 the first book in the "Hairy Maclary" series "Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy" was published the following books in the series "Hairy Maclary’s Bone" (1984), "Hairy Maclary Scattercat" (1985), "Hairy Maclary's Caterwaul Caper" (1987), "Hairy Maclary's Rumpus at the Vet" (1989) and "Hairy Maclary's Showbusiness" (1991) were all shortlisted in the Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award, which Lynley Dodd won in 1984 , 1986, 1988 and 1992. In the 1990s, a TV series based on the "Hairy Maclary" series featuring 10 five-minute episodes premiered. In 2015 a sculpture of Hairy Maclary and other characters from the books was officially unveiled in Tauranga, New Zealand on the waterfront by former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. In the 2019 TVNZ series "Goodnight Kiwi" the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern read "Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy" the episode aired on TVNZ 2 on Christmas Day. Honours and awards. In 1990, Dodd was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In 1999, she  became the ninth recipient of the Margaret Mahy Award. She was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2002 New Year Honours, for services to children's literature and book illustration. Following the re-introduction of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009.