Carl's Afternoon in the Park (Carl)

Rating:
Summary: A disturbing, thought-provoking book.
Review: A baby is abandoned in a city park by a young, single mother to be cared for by two Rotweillers. The threesome manage to keep themselves alive by scrounging for food from strangers, narrowly escaping injury from the park amusements and maintenance equipment. The mother eventually comes to her senses and returns to pick up her baby before Social Services arrest her.

I'm not sure which is more disturbing, the unapologetic ease at which the mother can decide to leave her child, or the detached non-involvement of the other park visitors, who never once called the police or child welfare officials to pick up the baby.

This book should be treated as a cautionary tail to educate parents-to-be about the responsibilities of parenthood.

Rating:
Summary: You can always add your own story
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: beautiful, detailed paintings illustrate witty story
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for the imagination
Review: 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]

Rating:
Summary: The BEST Carl book of all!
Review: 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]

Rating:
Summary: The favorite book of both our toddlers!!!
Review: We have a few "Carl" books at our house and "Carl's Afternoon in the Park" is the runaway favorite. Both our children get very excited and run to me when I pick up this book. We often find them paging through it on their own as well. They love the balloons, train, park, children's zoo animals and swing -- not to mention the great Carl! This book has been a wonderful addition to our collection.