My FAVORITE book as a child...

Good Dog Carl is a book that I used to adore as a little girl. Part of my love for this book came from the main character, Carl of course. I used to love how he played with the child whom he was left with so often, and the relationship that the two shared. I myself had a dog who I used to believe was my best friend, and although he has since past, I may still sometimes believe that he always was. I loved how well the two characters played together, and how much fun they had. Whether Carl was carrying his infant friend around the house on his back (which I myself had tried to do many times when I was young. It was much easier when I was a baby with the help of my parents!), or playing dress-up in mommy's jewelry and make-up, the two were always innevitably having a good time.

I loved the security that was also there with having Carl around. I mean, really... Who would ever leave their child home alone with just a dog? Especially a child as young as this one was. But that never mattered to me when I was young. The thought never crossed my mind, and I think it's better that way when you're a child. All I could see was this amazing dog, companion, protector, and everything else Carl could be to a young child.

I think another part of my enthusiasm for this book came from the lack of words. There was just the first page on which the mother would tell Carl that she was leaving and that he would have to watch the baby and take care of him while she was gone. From the next page on, the pages were void of text, and simply portrayed the different things that Carl and his sidekick were doing at any particular time during their day. I loved the pictures, I loved how I could use those pictures and create my own dialogue with the characters. I loved when my mother would "read" the book to me, creating her own interpretation of what the book might say if it had been made with text.

I believe that this book was a way for me to be able to move into a different stage of reading as well. This was a book that I didn't have to just ignore the words and the fact that I didn't know how to read them, and make up my own story. The words were never there, and I could make up any kind of story based on what I saw in the pictures without the distraction of text I didn't understand. The pictures were always easy to understand.

I was so happy to discover the wide variety of Carl books that I never knew were out there. I will be very interested to see what some of the others look like, and what kinds of adventures Carl and his infant friend go on. However, I know that there will never be anything like the original story, or the many originals I created for myself with this first book; Good Dog Carl.