Carl : A Classic Board Book, Good Dog

"Good Dog Carl" was THE favorite book for both my children when young and to give to a newborn or as baby shower gift. As my girls started to talk they "read" me the story and their rendition of Carl and baby's shenanigans. It was the best loved and best worn book in our extensive library. And parents who I've gifted the book to always thank me as their children grow with it. LOVE this book. So happy it's still available to gift.

I love this book, have bought many for gifts. I now have a Rottweiler that is a therapy dog for children in the hospital as well as elderly people. I buy the book to give to the children either before we visit to let them see a kind gentle BIG dog or when we are visiting at the hospital as a memory of Good Dog Carlie.
Since there are few words and beautiful paintings the children usually like to make up their own story from the pictures.
Wonderful series of Carl books.

I buy this book for all "newborns" as a gift from our Rottweiler! However, usually the book is "larger"! This book is much smaller than the books I previously purchased so I was very disappointed. I am debating whether to return it and "try again"! Pictures are great in these books. No words - just pictures! Make stories up as you go!

I recently sponsored a child in Haiti. She does not speak English and she is in kindergarten. I wanted a book that could be easily understood. Most kids can relate to a dog story. I hope she will like it.

I think this is the best kids' book ever. Recently my neighbors had their first child. "Good Dog Carl" is my traditional new baby gift. They love the book and can't wait until their daughter can "read" the book to them. Don't know why I put "read" in quotes?? That means you haven't read "Good Dog Carl" and you need to do so as soon as possible.

I have ordered many different Carl books and love them but this one was smaller in size than the others which was a disappointment because i wanted to give them for gifts in a set with the other Carl dog books.

I just looked at my order history to discover that I have ordered this book 6 times since 2006. Based on that, how could I give it fewer than five stars? It's my go-to book for baby gifting. Just a great story and it never gets old. Making up the words is a fun alternative to reading the words, and it leaves room for your imagination to fill in the blanks. The repeat purchase history speaks for itself.

I purchased this book for a baby shower - the hosts had a great idea for each guest to bring a book instead of a card. I immediately knew I wanted to give my friend "Good Dog Carl" for her new little girl...this was my favorite book growing up! Unfortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere...except on the store that is! The book was in excellent condition upon arrival and my friend loved it!

Saw this book in the Germany pavillion in EPCOT and laughed outloud when I paged through it. I knew I could get it at a better price and not have to worry about carrying it home if I could find it on the store. Of course I did and my grandchildren and I have all laughed together as we share this delightful picture story.

This is a great book with little words written inside. Most of the pages are only pictures so I make up the story for my 23 month old son. He loves it and always wants to read the "Carl Book." The story goes outside safe boundries so it's not a lesson book, but it's very fun!

This book is something I have given as a baby gift for many years. It has the unique ability for children to tell their own story. But the best thing is the artwork. It beautiful enough to buy 2 and frame the entire book or use it as a wallpaper border in a children's room.

I use this book to collect language samples in the school setting. I am a speech pathologist and books like this come in handy. There are no words so children can use language creatively with help if they need it to discuss the illustrations.

I love the Carl books. More importantly, my 20 month old grandson was fascinated! Such a good book for this age. So many pictures to point at and say the name, and then just telling the story. The only problem is that my grandson wants to ride on his dog!!

Good Dog, CarlThe pictures in this bood are wonderful. My toddler granddaughter loves looking and pointing at the dog as he gets into various activities through the book.

The first page shows a mom who leaves her baby in the crib alone with the dog. I could not believe it!I had to buy it. I can't believe there are stories like that out there. There is no other words written in it, so I will make my own story to show my son that it is very irresponsible. You just have to laugh at it!

I like picture books because you can make up different stories with them and they don't get old. Plus, they grow with your child so you can point out different things as they get older. This one is sweet as Carl the dog babysits the child and they get messy, but he cleans up the baby and puts him back into the crib before momma gets home. At the end it says "good dog, Carl."

I am really saddened by so many parents that are blaming this book for their lack of parenting skills. Maybe they should buy some books on child development instead.
Carl books are great books and really allow for conversations with with young people that use imagination and can help start set a nice foundation of decision making skills. P.S. it very normal for a 2 year old to start teaching themselves to climb out of a crib. It mean it’s time to get a “big kid bed”
If you love these books then you will love the book “Chalk”. If you don’t love them - stick to books with words, then you won’t have to work to hard.

This book is not about:

* An irresponsible mom leaving her child alone
* A smart loving dog who does funs things with a baby while mom is away
* Unsafe conditions in the home

It's about the crazy imagination of a mother thinking what would happen if she left her dog and baby at home alone. (For all we know, we don't know if someone else was really at home babysitting.)

When I read this book, I like to see it from the mother's point of view as she is out doing her errand. These are the things she is thinking what could go on if this were to happen. Suspend your believe here a little…. the pages with words really did happen and the pages without words, never did or never could happen. (I don't know too many babies who can ride on the back of dogs or swim in a fishing pool. I don't know too many dogs who can wash babies and tidy up after a messy room.

The focus should not be on the dog or the baby. The focus should be on the crazy mother with the crazy imagination!

But let's say you had to leave your trusted rot home with YOUR baby, wouldn't your imagination be quite similar too? That is what makes this book great.

I got the board book version of this book that I loved as a kid for my one year old daughter. It's a great little book with beautiful artwork. The only words are on the first and last pages of the book but there is so much going on in the artwork that you have plenty to day. My daughter loves looking at the pictures on her own (she'll sit on the floor with her books and flip through the pages all by herself). She's probably too young to really know what's going on but I love the Carl books...I loved them as a kid and still think they are adorable. I'm so glad to have this one in the collection to share with my daughter as she grows.

I was first introduced to this book in 2000 when I was substituting for a school librarian. The teacher left the book for me to read to the K, 1st, and 2nd graders. As we read the book (this was not the board book version), I had the students help me decipher what was going on. I was fresh out of college and thought the book was a riot! So much so, that I've told the little story to lots of other people over the years and encouraged parents to read it to their children.

Last week, while traveling, my husband and I stopped at a Barnes & Noble to stretch our legs and let our 21 month old play with the train set and listen to story time. This is when I ran across the Good Dog, Carl board book. As soon as I saw it, I had to buy it. When we got in the car to continue our long trip, I handed the book to my daughter and she looked at the pictures on her own. It was over a week before we were able to sit down and actually read it to her. My husband did the reading and we all three chuckled over the silly things that Carl and the baby do.

A rebuttal to some of the one star reviews:

"Pre-reading" activities that can lead your child to become life long readers and learners include the simple act of hold a book and looking at pictures. Yes, there is very little text. But, for my 21 month old, just turning the pages from right to left is an important step to learning to read.

Telling a story through pictures helps a child begin to make connections between pictures and words. This also allows a child to use their imagination as they tell mom or dad what is going on in the book. This can also help children grow their vocabulary by offering opportunities to express their thoughts and what they believe is happening in the pictures.

Good Dog, Carl is a great example of "First, Next, Then, and Last" in storytelling. It is an important step for children to learn ordering and sequential steps.

Finally, if your child is in a crib and trying to climb out, I fully believe it is time for them to be moved to their own bed. Stop blaming Carl and introduce a toddler bed to your child.

As a preschool teacher, I have owned this book for a number of years and each year it is a favorite with the children in my class. Carl is a giant Rottweiler that is left to take care of the baby while the mother goes out. One of my favorite kind of books is those with magnificent pictures that you can make up the story as you go through the pictures or even better ask the children to tell the story that they see in the picture to encourage them to participate in a wonderful pre-reading experience. The children will also take this Carl book and 'read' it to each other during free choice time in the classroom. In the end Carl gets the baby back where she belongs after a great adventure; after all he is Good Dog Carl.

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE CHUNKY BOOK FOR MY LITTLE NIECES AND NEPHEW OVER AT MY BROTHERS HOUSE ! WE LOVE CARL AND WE HAVE ROTTWEILER DOGS SO THIS IS A MUST IN OUR FAMILY; WE HAVE ALL THE BOOKS AND CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THEM, THEY'RE THE BEST!!!!!!! ARRIVED ON TIME AND IN PERFECT CONDITION, THANK YOU!

This was such a fun book for our kids growing up. It's a sweet picture book story of a rottweiler taking care of the baby. Since there are no words, it left room for storytelling and changes each time we looked at it. I actually gave it as a gift to a neighbor who walks a Rottweiler and baby in the neighborhood. When it came in the mail, my kids (now teens) were all sitting on the couch looking at it with smiles and aw's. Precious. Of course, we have our book in the keepsake chest.

Hey man! Do you like books about dogs and babies? Who could resist, right? Good Dog Carl is an excellent wordless picture book. In our opinion it is an amazing book to check out!

One reason we enjoy this book is because it is funny. Some funny parts include when the baby and dog are playing in the makeup. They bathe in a fish tank, and if that wasn't funny enough, they also dance around the living room!

Our next reason we like this book is that the dog appears very intelligent. Carl acts like a responsible parent. He feeds and bathes the baby, then puts the baby back into the baby crib. Afterwards, he cleans the house so when Mom returns she will not know of their outstanding adventure.

The last reason we enjoy this book is because the pictures are really detailed and creative. The pictures were able to tell a whole story without the use of words.

Good Dog Carl is an awesome wordless picture book. This book will keep you laughing with it's detailed colorful pictures and an intelligent character like Carl. You should buy this book on the store!

A fun book that works as an imaginative activity with your kids. The book shows of a dog taking after a toddler while the mother is away. He gives the boy rides, food, a bath, plays with him etc.

I went through this book with my 2 younger brothers. Since the book's story is through illustrations and not so much through words, I let them each take a turn interpreting the pictures, telling the story, then I went ahead and gave them my version of what everything meant. we had a great time. The artwork shows just enough story but leaves some to the imagination.

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.

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!

Infants, toddlers, dogs and books for children should, perhaps, come with instruction manuals. Of course, the people who most need directions might not read them. But parents can best use children's books by reading with their children, not by handing them over, unread, as baby-sitting substitutes. This develops in children an outsized ability to communicate -- and much-needed senses of inquiry, humor and fun, particularly if book discussions, however elementary, result.

Which brings me to this fictional picture story for infants and toddlers, first published in 1985. The mother left Carl, a Rottweiler, to look after her baby while she went out. The obvious impossibility of this situation is precisely what renders the story so delightful to most kids.

The baby played on her mother's vanity table, messing with the powder. She took a swim in the goldfish tank, got into the refrigerator and dumped food and milk on the kitchen floor (which Carl tracked about), slid down the laundry shoot and took a bath. Every child must learn to clean up, and Carl set a fine example.

Carl's success prompted the author to create an entire Carl series. In each vignette, the mother asked Carl to look after her baby, and together the baby and dog always got into new mischief.

Pure fun accounts for the wild success of this book and series. Evidently, most parents realize that laughing with children over books can teach them many things, including the early ability to distinguish fact from fiction--and that using words like "silly" and "trouble" can make this understandable even to babies under one year.

---Alyssa A. Lappen

I had this book as a child, and passed it to my cousins when they were born. It was my absolute favorite book! No matter how many times you "read" it, the story is different each time. Now that my husband and I are planning for a baby, the Carl series is at the top of my baby registry list! We have a Rottie mix and an American Pit Bull Terrier who are the sweetest and most affectionate dogs ever. While I don't plan on having the dogs babysit, I do think that they will be superb big siblings and I'm confident that they will teach baby all kinds of fun things! And for those of you who think I'm dooming the child to a mauling, I promise that there is no way on Earth that either of my dogs will ever bite ANY human! You are probably the same parents that think that is book is out of line and should be banned. I feel bad for you.

I was introduced to this book while attending college. (My field of study was hearing impaired children). This book is not necessarily a book to be "read" to the child, but one in which the child "reads" to the parents. It helps children of young age and any ability learn language by telling the story to the parents. Each time the child views the story the parent can point out details in the beautifully drawn pictures to help expand the child's language abilities with new words. Telling the story will also help a child's imagination to grow. This book is definitely one to be enjoyed by parents and children together. I personally own all the "Carl" books and can't wait to share them with my young son.

I had this book as a child and I, according to my mother, loved it.

Now, 30 years later, this is my 14mo daughter's favorite book. Her first word was dog and she would pull it out and point at Carl and tell us dog over and over. She loves the pictures and out of two separate book bins in her room, she inevitably finds this book.

We love this book, and we are two adults! This is a sweet picture book that tells the story of Carl, and what he does while babysitting. If you have a dog, especially a rottweiler, you will find this book quite amusing. It would be a great funny gift for parents-to-be who have a rottweiler, or a large dog for that matter. Owners of large dogs know that they act in their own special funny way, especially when you aren't around.

The book is entirely in lovely paintings and without many words. The format should allow for many hours of creative story dialogue between parent and child. However, precious baby won't be able to enjoy it until s/he reaches a verbal toddler stage. Can't wait to hear the story that our little one tells us when "reading" this 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.

The Carl books are wonderful, including this one. They are funny and fictional, as are most of the children's books I share with my son. We read about singing hippos and dancing dinosaurs and farting dogs, so why not a babysitting Rottie (a very sensible and responsible babysitting Rottie, I might add)?

I wonder if the significant negative response to these books is due largely to the very realistic style of painting which Alexandra Day uses in her illustrations. Would people be so upset if the same story were illustrated with cartoonish neon-colored characters? I love the paintings that illustrate these books; they are beautifully rendered and a nice change from all the flat cartoons in children's books.

I absolutely love this book! I have a theory that Carl is really a metaphor for the child's father. This is a stereotype I see quite often in the media and when you view Carl with this perspective it seems like a playful blow-up of the "bad daddy" jokes. Personally, I would rather have Carl watch my kid than the Goldfish from the Cat in the Hat.

I wasn't so sure about this book but my 4 year old ADORES it. She laughs out loud every single time we "read" it. I say "read" because there are only about 2 sentences in the whole book but we have a great time discussing all the pictures. We have the hard back board book which has held up extremely well and the pictures are very clear and beautiful. She goes to sleep with it every night and totally "gets" that it is a silly story (i.e. people do not leave their babies with the dog in charge!!) For the joy it has brought my children I give this book with its beautiful illustrations a 5 star review. I had no idea there were other Carl books but will likely pick some of those up too.

We have four children between the ages of newborn and six, and we have found ourselves reaching for Carl books over and again at storytime. Reading the other reviews posted was the first time I had heard of the series referred to as "disturbing". There is a whole class of what has been called "obsessive parents" that will find something wrong with all things parenting, but the simple truth is that most seasoned parents who have shared Carl with their children will attest to how loved the books are. I either read or heard somewhere that the series is intended, in part, as a veiled protest of modern parents' reliance on day care. The lack of words provides excellent opportunity for language development; ask questions of your child and listen to the (often funny) things they see within the books' pages...you will be amazed at how much your grown-up eyes are incapable of seeing any longer. You don't have to like rottweilers, or even dogs, to enjoy Carl!

It's not toally wordless.. there are a total of two sentences; one in the beginning and one at the end. The rest of the story is done through beautiful illustrations of interactions between Carl (a Rottweiller) and a baby he's left to care for. For those who find that absurd I point to every story where children are abandoned by mothers (Cat in the Hat, Hansel and Gretel, for that matter every fairy tale ever written). It's fiction! Also it is intended for a pre-reading audience (I recommend 2-3 years) not those who will be judging its probability.
As a speech language pathologist I find this book to be AMAZING for eliciting spoken language. You can ask what the baby is doing, where is the baby, how did that happen, or even "Can a baby swim in a fish tank???" Even my 2 year old son answers no.
It's a great imaginative story with beautiful pictures, phooey to those who are shocked.

This is one of our family's favorite characters and we've added many from the series to our home library as the holidays and seasons have come along. My daughters (now 2) have loved these books since they were babies... one's first word was "Carl" and the other's was "Baby"!! The stories are fun and full of complexities so that you will enjoy something new each time you read it. (I just pointed out to my husband, after a year of reading it, that Carl and the baby are hiding the birthday present that's dog shampoo in Carl's Birthday... imagine how you can develop that small subplot as you reread for the 20th time and need a new angle!) As a Kindergarten teacher I also love these books for emerging readers because it teaches kids that they ARE readers whether or not they have already cracked the code of letters and words... and they truly ARE!! Much more so than memorizing the patterned books (also a wonderful start to reading) wordless books build vocabulary, the parts of a story, and especially divergent thinking (there's more than one way to skin a cat) Once they are ready to write stories themselves books like Good Dog Carl will already have taught them how a story works, and that they are capable of creating one. I won't even address the ridiculous comments about the fantasy plots (not parenting guide!!) but I have to comment on the reviewers who feel wordless books don't improve literacy skills.... simply untrue. Any teacher of reading would encourage wordless books. I was asked recently what books I would recommend to a family with various ages and the answer was Carl... babies to 7+ year olds can enjoy reading these books. I use the word reading and not telling because wordless books is how I teach my students that EVERYONE, even on the first day of school, can read to themselves during our "quiet reading time" and that they are ALL capable of doing what "good readers" do! I have bought this book for every single baby shower I've been to since discovering it and you should too ;) This is quality literature and anyone who disagrees doesn't understand the meaning of that phrase! I know I sound like I work for the publishing company but I don't... as a mother of toddler twins and kindergarten teacher I recommend this book as a must have in any home or classroom library.

This is a (mostly) wordless picture book.

I gotta say that the story is a little weird. A woman leaves her baby in the care of her dog for long enough for said baby to eat and take a bath as well as having any number of scary adventures (down the laundry chute? INTO THE FISH TANK?) in the house?

And the dog... cleans it all up after? How smart IS this dog, anyway?

But my five year old niece thought the story was wildly funny, and was happy to be able to read it easily on her own (because, of course, there are no words).

I loved this book! It is just cute! Sarah, the mom, has to do some errands for a while and asks Carl to take care of Madeleine. While Sarah is gone, the two of them have fun while jumping on Sarah's bed, dancing, having a snack, and Carl even gives Madeleine a bath! Just as Carl sees Sarah coming home, he cleans up the mess downstairs. When Sarah comes in she says, "Good dog, Carl!" just like the book. I suggest this book to young kids who love canines!

The illustrations in this story are almost palpable. The story invites readers of all ages to join in with Carl and the baby on their adventure. This book is a treat to read and encourages young readers to use their imaginations at the turn of each page. The sturdy cardboard design makes it especially rugged and durable for the younger kids

I loved this book when I was a little kid. Carl is the babysitter I always wished I had.

I never tried to slide down a laundry chute or go swimming in a fish tank because I was not an idiot. Just like I never tried to put a hat on my cat and have crazy hijinks when my parents weren't home. I certainly didn't try to join a family of bears after reading Goldilocks and it never occurred to me to try and live under the sea after seeing The Little Mermaid.

Every kid wants to ride their dog like a horse but its the parents' responsibility to educate them that it can hurt the dog. Don't blame a book because your kid is on another planet and you can't seem to reinforce common sense.

Everyone in our family loves to see what Carl is doing. He is a great helper and always seems 'to save the day'or at least knows how to entertain and keep a toddler or baby busy. You and your kids will want to keep this book handy, the kids will keep you busy telling them what Carl is doing with the baby. Do dogs really make good babysitters? Who cares, this book commands your childrens attention.

The entire Carl series is wonderful. The pictures are bright and vibrant, catching and keeping our baby's attention. She loves looking at them. The books do a great job of showing the bond between children and dogs, especially big dogs, Rottweilers specifically. With all of the bad press, these books are a breath of fresh air. We love them!!!

My 18-month-old daughter loves all of the Carl books we own; she has been enjoying them prior to her first birthday. Making up the story along the way means each time you read together it's a slightly different story--very engaging!

(...) It's a beautifully illustrated book with all of two printed sentences. The child can speak the story, question the story, and describe the probability if they are mature enough. Yes, the parents do leave the child with a Rottweiller, but unless you are buying this as a parenting manual this will not affect your children's behaviour.
I am amazed that anyone finds it shocking, considering the truly shocking we see in our culture all day.. a piece of children's ficiton on par with a giant red dog (Clifford?) or any fairy tale ever spoken. It is truly innocent and appealing to most toddlers I've met.

My 2 yo LOVES this book (and the other Carl books we have). We've been reading it every day for months and he's never tried to slide down a laundry chute or swim in a fish tank as one reviewer suggested he would. The drawings are lovely and the detail provides opportunity for great games of "Do you see the..."

We love this book. The story is sweet and fun and interesting and inspires imagination. I personally get a catch in my throat with every reading - the love and indulgence offered by that dog (as he gives the baby a brief but thrillingly fun time and then cleans everything up) for the baby's fun and the mother's wishes (clean house and baby, etc) is touching.

I am a speech language pathologist currently working in a preschool program for children with language and hearing disabilities. Our team has found the Carl books to be a wonderful tool for evaluating and practicing language skills. If SLPs are looking for a good diagnostic tool for narrative and sentance structure, these books are a great way to go. The same holds true for parents who want to encourage expressive language development in their little ones.
PS - None of our clients (and many of them have severe developmental delays) have ever tried to drown themselves in our lobby fish tank. If your child seems inclined to do so, perhaps a lid on the tank would be helpful.

I HAVE THIS BOOK AT HOME I LOVE IT! THIS IS A GREAT GIFR FOR CHILDREN 2,3,4,5 AND UP ITS A BOOK YOU HAVE TO GET, AND AT THE COST OF THIS BOOK(YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK I READ IT TI MY SELF AND I'M 10 YEARS OLD, I LOVE TO LOOK AT THE PICTURES!)YOU CAN'T GET IT CHEAPER ANY WHERE. GET THIS BOOK AND GIVE IT TO SOME ONE YOU LOVE AND THEY WILL LOVE IT TOO. IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK TRY ALL OF THE CARL BOOKS. I HAVE ONE OF THEM BUT I GET SOME FROM THE LIBARY AND I LOVE THEM GET THIS BOOK HURRY YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IS COMMING UP AND TRY TO MAKE A CHILD HAPPY BY GETTING this book. I'M A CHILD MYSELF AND I LOVE ALL OF THE CARL BOOKS. I THINK YOU NEED TO GET THIS FOR A CHILD LIKE ME NOW!

The negative reviews of this series of books is so typical of today's "yuppy" parents! It's called FICTION....I was the owner of a rottie before I heard about Carl.....when I walked my dog in public, so many times I would hear little kids say ,"Look Mommy, there's Carl!" The illustrations are so detailed and so beautiful. As you "read" the book with your child, you have the opportunity to do some early teaching such as pointing out safety issues,etc. If you only read books that have perfect stories then your child will be very disappointed to learn that life is NOT perfect.

Michael, age 5, loves that "Good Dog Carl" has few words and that he can make up his own story! He laughs while Carl puts on makeup, dances, and throws away garbage with his mouth! Michael reviews this and other kids' dog books on YouTube, and is the co-author of Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence (Volume 1)

An adorable story of the relationship between a Rottweiler and a 2 year old baby. That sounds nice, until you realize, wait, did this mother just abandon her baby and leave a Rottweiler in charge of caring for her? Just kidding, we love Rottweilers and are glad to see a story that shows their true personality- caring, loving and loyal.

This has to be one of the greatest books, all of the Carl's adventures really. With so few words this book can be enjoyed for so long. My three year old who has had this book for sometime loves this....and my seven year old enjoys this as well. He makes up much more interresting details about what is going on in the story than I. LOVE IT :)

I've bought several of this series for my grandsons. You can start very young with this book, and you'll be amazed at how children love the illustrations and create their own story to go along with the beautiful pictures. One of my favorite childrens' sets of books.

Every person I know who has young children receives good dog Carl Books from me, for several reasons: 1. The illustrations are fantastic 2. The books dispel the negative myths surrounding "Rotties" and helps dispel peoples fears about dogs in general. 3. There is no text and thus allows children and adults to actively use their speaking imaginations..it let's the reader become actively involved. 4. I adore dogs!

These were the first books I got into as a child and I always dreamed of having a rottweiler of my very own some day. Even though I am 23 years old and never owned a Rottie yet I still remember these books with adoration. I will certainly share these with my kids and some day get my Rottie too.

Since there are words only the first and last pages of this book it is an excellent oppotunity to let your child tell you the story. This way they get the sense of what reading is all about.
We've read this enough times that I don't even bother reading the few words that show up. My daughter paraphrases these sentences.

Leave so much to the imagination. This could be a different story about Carl and the baby every single time. I can see a glimmer in my toddler's eye and I can tell he's thinking about how fun it would be if one of our dogs would "babysit" him!!

A classic of illustration. Carl is a large Rottweiler dog with a nearly human
intellegence and a child's sense of mischief. The text consists only of two
,only two sentences, but the dozen or so beautifully painted illustrations actually
tell a fairly complex story of a baby's adventures. ( _Home Alone_?)
Parents will love introducing the story to their children and the kids will love
"reading" it.

I love this book! And so do my grandkids - 4 little boys under 4yrs. We have a dog that looks just like Carl, her name is Maggie. We substitute her name for Carl's. The pictures are so pleasing with their colors and all. Great book for little toddlers.

I found this book to be an excellent guide for child rearing. It affirmed by choice as a parent to leave my toddler in the ward of a large canine for hours at a time. It offered a further benefit of teaching my child how to leave his crib so that he would not get too bored while I am at work for the day. Carl is indeed a good dog and this book will make you a good parent, too.

As the owner of a dog which is part Rottie, I was happy to see a story about a good Rottweiler. And Carl is a charming and sweet dog. The drawings in this line of books are beautiful and details, and have a certain Norman Rockwell quality to them. As has been stated this is a book with pictures only which lets your little one (or you) make up the words, which can be lots of fun. BUT, I too am troubled by a story where the mom leaves the baby alone with the dog for what seems like a looong time, with the instructions for the dog to watch the baby while she is out. And, in the process the baby gets but into all kinds of dangerous situations (dropped down the laundry chute, bathed in the fish tank, etc). I just don't know if little kids will be able to understand that those things don't happen "in real life".

This author shows her love and appreciation for a great big rottweiller. It is great to see a rottweiller shown in a positively interacting with a family. This is a must have book for anyone with small children and a beloved rottie.

I had read the reviews about this book being a bit disturbing, but decided to give it a try anyway. My daughter loved the pictures of Carl, but her father decided to ban it, taking it to work to share with his coworkers. The illustrations are great, and most of the story is cute, but the baby falling two stories in the laundry chute, and falling into the fish tank were not so cute.

It makes for a wonderful book when your toddler is going through one of those stages of just wanting to read the same book over and over and over and over and over b/c there isn't much for you to read.

I have to admit though that although I find the illustrations charming the whole premise is kind of creepy. I always end the reading with, "And then CPS came and took the mother away and placed baby with a loving, responsible family and Carl went on to star in his own TV show." I don't want my daughter being left with the impression that if we get a dog at some point it will be babysitting. I'm all for catharsis in children's books to show irresponsible behavior, etc. I think this one is disturbing b/c the parent is the one that's so horrible. The kid and dog are doing what one would expect.

The dog "Carl" is left alone to babysit. If you read the other reviews, you will see people shocked by the antics (sliding down the laundry shoot, swimming in the fish tank, etc.) I have to agree that you don't want your child thinking these things are fun or funny. However, I recommend you try "Carl's Afternoon in the Park." Same idea (rottweiler left to take care of baby, which you may argue is disturbing in itself, but not if you take it in good fun as it is meant) without the really off-limits stuff that you don't want your child attempting. In this book, Carl, baby, and a puppy do things that you would do with your child (go on the merry-go-round, get ice cream, slide down slide, get their pictures painted). My son loves it... laughs at the dog getting water splashed in his face and the puppy sliding down the slide and toppling over the baby. And enough intrigue for an adult (nice to notice every artist is painting the dogs and baby using different styles). Beautiful pictures throughout. Over all, a good, beautiful, imaginative book.

You read about it every day in the news. Because people just can't seem to learn. Headline: Child gets mauled and killed by family pet. So let's enforce that in a children's book so they can learn stupidity when they are real young. If it didn't happen in real life so much, then it would be a cute story. But why a Rotwieler? Why not a golden retriever? And why can't the mother be getting the mail from the mailbox or doing something a little more sensible. Mother leaving the house to go shopping while leaving a Rotwieler to look after the baby is just a plain dumb story and any responsible adult wouldn't buy or read this book. Stick with the time tested books like Seuss or Eric Carle. Try David Shannon or Mo Williams. You have tons of choices. Skip this garbage. Please don't defend this book because you have a Rot yourself. Let's write a story about little Timmy next that finds a loaded gun in the closet and shoots off his brothers face. You read about this in the news too.

this book begins with the mother leaving her young child in the care of a dog! my seven year old widened his eyes in disbelief and my one year old looked confused throughout the story. it got more outrageous as it went on. it has the child climbing out of the crib and onto the dog's back, the dog putting the child in the fish tank to swim, down a laundry shoot and a bunch of other absolutely innapropriate situations. to show this book to a child who does not have the cognitive ability to "know better" is scary. i can not understand how anyone describes it as sweet! it's horrid. i have "one star" as a rating because "no stars" was not a choice. this book is ridiculous. i was hesitant to show it to my one year old because i didn't want to give him any ideas. i'll never show it to him again.

Let's be clear... this is a very sweet and charming book, and if you've ever had the pleasure of being loved by a Rottweiler, you've a.) learned that these dogs can be as sweet as any other and b.) probably didn't have a choice in the matter.

However, and this has echoed other reviewers, this can leave a very dangerous impression on young children.

In the book, the child rides the dog. We have a 16 month old. We have a dog. Toddlers hit an age when they lack impulse control for a bit. My wife introduced our daughter to this book (over my objection), and now she keeps trying to ride our and a neighbor's dog. Seriously, we have to watch her like a hawk. Actually, since we already supervise her interactions with the dog, we now watch her like two hawks. Then when we stop her repeated attempts to ride the dog, she throws a mini-tantrum, because, well, she's a 16 month old.

For the record, I also don't like Dear Zoo, because I think it's very irresponsible of a zoo to send a child a lion because he/she wants a pet, and Guess How Much I Love You, because Big Brown Hare is a prick.

I hate to say it, but this book should be taken off shelves, which sucks, because it is a really cute story.

I understand why some people like the cute premise of this book, and the nice illustrations. I thought I would too, as I'm a dog lover and like kids' books that have a sense of humor. But I have to say I don't like this one. Maybe I'd like the other Carl books better.

I checked this one out of the library and just read it to my son -- 23 months. I had to whisk past the page with the baby climbing out of the crib, because he is so observant and has been trying to climb out of his crib for awhile now. I think the only reason he hasn't is that he thinks it isn't possible. This book shows him that it is.

I felt a little ill viewing the picture of the baby in the fishtank. I find it hard to have a sense of humor about that. As soon as we finished this book I rushed to the computer and removed it from my the store.com wish list of things for my son's birthday.

Love the art & the concept, and, yes, it's very funny. But I would NOT recommend the book for the 1 year old to 3 year old crowd that the board book targets. Or anyone with a sibling that age. I have pretty tame girls, but still my 18 month old, if she so much as saw the picture, would immediately copy it. My three year old, in a silly moment, would try to be the family pet and get the 18 month old to climb on her back from the crib.

Toddlers and preschool kids don't know any better, don't necessarily see it as silly, and are excellent imitators. This should not be a board book, I think that is misleading. Great art & concept, cute story too if you are old enough to separate silly from real.

So scary it's hilarious, this book had to have been the creation of one of those "my dog is my baby" people, whom we have to hope are, and hopefully remain, childless. A mother leaves her baby alone when she leaves the house, which is illegal, not cute, not a delightful opening for a children's book. Letting a baby go down a laundry chute, again, not cute. Letting baby swim--SWIM! A baby!--in a fish tank...

I won't go on, but if you want a kid's book to show to your adult friends and get a HUGE, dark laugh at, Good Dog Carl will make a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza present. If you want to share a story with your kids that doesn't defy fundamental parental instincts, try something, no...anything else.

The book starts with a mother leaving her baby alone in the house. Besides being immoral, I think that is illegal in every state.
..
A young child, who was babysitting a baby, could read this book -> then proceed to put the baby in a fish tank or tub -> and the baby drowned. Or the babysitter could drop the baby down a clothes chute and the baby broke its neck.

I found this book in our church nursery, and I was shocked. This is the stupidest book I've ever seen! There are hardly any words, and the whole storyline is outrageous. I'm all for imaginary stories and make believe, but this crossed the line. Who thought it would be a good idea to teach kids that it's ok to leave a baby with a rottweiler and that it's ok for the rottweiler to put the baby in a fishtank? And bathtub? and laundry chute? I can't believe this was even published. Maybe I should start writing books... apparently anyone can do it.

A Mother leaves an infant alone in a house with a rotweiler. the Rotwieler pushed the baby down the laundry chute and puts him in a fish tank. Then for dinner the rotweiler gives the baby butter. To finish the book the dog gives the baby a bath and the mother comes back and thanks the dog for taking care of the baby!
WTF! What a horrible book it is a primarily picture book on top of that, so it does not even benefit my child's literacy.