Good Dog, Carl (Paperback)

by Alexandra Day (Author) "Look after the baby, Carl, I'll be back shortly..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Alexandra Day's modern classic Good Dog Carl has sold more than 200,000 copies, captivating countless readers with the lovable rottweiler Carl, endearing illustrations, and the tale's surprising silliness. The book begins with the mother saying, "Look after the baby, Carl. I'll be back shortly." Let the adventure begin! Carl looks out the window to make sure Mom is gone. Once the coast is clear, the baby crawls out of the crib and onto Carl's back. First stop? Mom's bed. Second stop? The top of the dresser where powder puffs are sported as hats. The infant--now in Carl's capable paws--slides down the laundry chute, swims in the fish tank, dances, raids the refrigerator, and makes a huge mess. Carl dutifully bathes the baby, cleans up the chaos, puts his charge back in the crib, and plays it cool when Mom comes home. "Good dog, Carl!" she says upon her return. A sweet, subtly absurd picture book that jubilantly illustrates the old adage, "When the cat's away, the mice will play." (Picture book)

Product Description

Available in paperback for the first time, the modern classic that introduced the beloved baby-sitting rottweiler to the world.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689817711
• ISBN-13: 978-0689817717
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Day, Alexandra
  #7 in	Books > Children's Books > Issues > Babysitting
  #18 in	Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Picture Books

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carl Is Adorable, Some Readers Need Perspective, September 29, 2004

By	Jesse Penitent "zekaille" (Somewhere, Out There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book (Board book)

As a children's librarian, I, too, am absolutely outraged about this book! I am outraged that so many people have so little ability to separate reality from fantasy. Folks, if this book is causing problems in your home, may I suggest that you also avoid Amelia Bedelia (dumbest maid in the world), "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", ALL the Miss Nelson books, The Stupids and, as your child grows up, toss ALL fantasy novels straight out the window. (Goodbye, Dorothy! Goodbye, Chet Gecko!)

Of course, for all I know, the people worrying about Carl being left alone to mind a baby actually DO inhabit a world where maids actually draw a picture of the bath when asked to draw a bath, it really DOES rain spaghetti, teachers can fool their students with simple disguises, people are as dumb as the Stupids, animals talk and tornados really do carry little girls away over the rainbow. In which case, instead of being outraged, I am either very jealous or very scared.

For everyone else, Carl is a riot to read, cute as can be and your child will have a giggle imagining that a baby and a dog could REALLY get up to that much trouble.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We Love Carl., March 18, 2002

By	Spencer Medvick (Richfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book (Board book)

Five years ago, my sister-in-law tried to convince me that a book about a dog - a rottweiler, no less - who babysits when mother goes out was "wonderful". I was skeptical (at best). (Let me get this straight: the mother puts her baby in the crib and tells the DOG to take care of it? Then the mother LEAVES? That's crazy. That's not a good message. It's a Rottweiler? What was the author thinking?) Once I got to READ the book, though, I fell in love too. I must admit that we contributed a couple of Carl books to my niece's growing library that year. Now we are building a Carl collection for our son, and it's a hit. At 2 years old, he loved to have Daddy read this to him. At 3.5, he reads it to anyone who will sit still. His take on the action is a little different than ours, but it is very imaginative!

This is the first of the Carl books. They're all my favorite. I just can't decide. I like to go in order, though. These are not particularly sequential books, but Baby is a little bigger in each book as they go along.

I love the open-ended play we get from this book, so that anyone reading it, including your own Baby, can make up the story. The illustrations are fabulous - the action is what our kids have focused on, and the detail is amusing for the older reader on the 112th time through. I recommend this for any small child, especially the 1yo - 4yo crowd. Give it to some lucky family, or get it for yourself!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book but not for babies, July 2, 2001

By	marared (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book (Board book)

This is a gorgeous book with a very humorous storyline told almost all in pictures (no words). The basic plot is that a dog is left at home to take care of a baby all day, and the dog and baby have adventures in the house (the dog takes good care of the baby). It's a book that parents and children will both enjoy, and it gives the opportunity for the child to tell the story. I like the fact that the story is told entirely without words because it gives the opportunity for parent and child to discuss what's happening in the story. The story itself is very funny, and appealing

Having said that, I must also say that although this is one of my favorite books, it's still been a flop with my 14 month old. I anticipate that sometime soon she will start to enjoy it, but up to this point she has not been interested. I think there are probably a couple of reasons for this. First, the pictures are not colorful enough to grab the attention of a baby, though the dog-and-baby subject is likely to be more attractive to her within the next few months. Secondly, the drawings are pretty detailed - with this book you want to spend a few moments on each page. For a patient toddler that would probably be fine. Mine prefers to be "in charge" of reading and flip through the pages herself, and unless something grabs her attention she flips through the pages quickly and tosses the book.

I hate to discourage anyone from buying this book because I love it so much. I guess my bottom line on this book would be this: you and your child will probably eventually both love this book, and if you are looking at the long haul it's a great investment because it's a great book. If you are buying for a very young child, though (under about 15 mos) and are on a limited budget, you might do better to buy a couple of very colorful books now and then buy this one a little later.