Customer Reviews

Carl's Afternoon in the Park

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book for very young children, but the illustrations are so lovely and detailed, and the situations depicted so full of wit and little hidden jokes, that I never get bored with it, even after "reading" it over and over and over again with my toddler. This is my very favorite of the Carl books, because the activities are totally non-materialistic and wholesome (riding a merry-go-round and a train, sharing an ice cream cone, getting sprayed by a hose), and because the park is recognizably inspired by beautiful Balboa Park in my native San Diego, where Alexandra Day lives. It's worth it to get both the board book and regular hardcover editions, just to appreciate the greater detail of the images in the larger format.

And I have to add just one more, mildly tongue-in-cheek comment: as for the "lesbian couple" alluded to in a veiled way by a previous reviewer -- well, I just have to giggle. Yes, there are two young, attractive women having a picnic on the grass as Carl and his charges go by. But it never would have occurred to me to impute homosexuality (or any kind of sexuality) to them. They're fully clothed (albeit in pants), and they're just sitting there -- hardly a lascivious scene no matter what your prejudices. Now if Tinky-Winky were pictured sitting with them, well, that would be a whole different story. I guess this just proves what everyone says is so wonderful about the Carl books -- you can interpret the images however you like.

This is, by far, the best Carl book (in fact, one of the best of any picture books). My just-turned-two girls have had this book for months, and it is their favorite. Not only is the artwork fantastic, but the book is actually quite clever (I love the scene with the artists painting Carl and the baby in abstract, impressionist and modern art styles). It is filled with spectacular images that grab a toddler's attention, and the detail is enough to keep adults interested, too. Even after reading the book many times, I still find things I hadn't noticed before. The book includes a carousel, flower garden, balloons, ice cream, train, petting zoo (with seals???), slide and much more ... plenty to show and teach your children! [As a side note, apart from this book and "Good Dog, Carl", the other Carl books fall short of our expectations]

I enjoy it as much as my 18 month old son. Carl, the baby and the puppy do all his favorite things - swingset, slide, ice cream (!), go on the train - plus much more. He now "reads" the story to me each night.

Carl is such a great dog, and the pictures are just beautiful.

There is "no" story line with words so you can talk all about what Carl does or you can say as little as you like to.

Great series books!

We got this book as a gift. When I first looked at it, I scoffed at it. I didn't think our daughter would ever even look at it. It doesn't have bright colorful pictures. It's not a popup. It doesn't have music. It doesn't even have words.

As it turns out, she loves it and I think this is why: the story features a baby going out on an adventure with two dogs so our daughter can relate to the character in the book plus our daughter loves animals, especially dogs. In addition, the fact that there are no words in the book forces us to narrate the story on the fly resulting in a more animated and unstructured storytelling which our daughter seems to like.

Anyway, the bottom line is that our daughter loves this book and I'm not exactly sure why!

I justed picked this book up at the library. I think it's great to have the majority of the book with no words, just gorgeous, colorful pictures. The more detail in the pictures, the better, as my almost-two year old loves to "find things" in them. With no words, he and I can make up our own story, it lets him decide whats happening. I plan to buy a few of the series to have around all the time.

Great paintings of what I believe is Balboa Park in San Diego. As a Rottweiler owner, I love the positive depiction of the breed. As a reader, I love the fantasy of the little girl and her canine caretaker.

Like all the Carl books, this is one of my kids' favorites. What I like best about it are the stunning illustrations. Rarely does one see such beautiful, realistic artwork in young children's books.

Plenty of details for the parents to enjoy. The modelling for the painters is quite funny. This is my favorite Carl book.

When Carl and the puppy pose for a plein-aire painting class, we see that each student has produced a portrait of the two dogs in different styles: pointillist, Cubist, and if I'm remembering correctly, like Mondrian. Hilarious! I love all these books, and the nieces and nephews for whom I bought them love them, too.

I met a neighbor walking a Rottweiler who looked just like one of the Carls, and she reports that her dog has a sweet personality, just like his.

Did not ask her about the dog's per-hour babysitting rate. [Pssst! It's FICTION, people!]