Good Dog, Carl

Nothing new around here, so I decided to just cut and paste some old stories until I have some inspiration. Here's one from July 2007!

Do you know the Carl books? They're picture books for toddlers. Carl is a rottweiler who inexplicably is allowed to babysit a baby. Hilarity - low key and sweet - ensues.

In Good Dog, Carl, as soon as his owner leaves him in charge, he takes the baby out of her crib and they jump on the bed, put makeup and jewelry on, swim in the fish tank, play records, make a snack, and take a ride down the laundry chute. He then gives her a bath, blow dries her, and hoists her back into the crib right before his owner comes back. She finds them both sleeping peacefully and exclaims, "Good Dog, Carl!"

We "read" this book for the thousandth time tonight. How do you read a book with almost no words?

Anyway, halfway through, at the image of Carl holding the baby in the fish tank, Abby started saying that Carl wasn't a good dog - he was a stupid dog. We asked
her why Carl was stupid. She said that putting a baby in a fish tank and pushing her down a laundry chute are BAD things to do. We went through the rest, with her
adding her commentary. Honestly? None of Carl's actions were really good dog-ish. In fact, Carl is a bad dog.

So I asked Abby if she'd like to write a Bad Dog, Carl book. She said yes, so I asked her what the bad Carl would do.

Here were her ideas:

1. Bite the baby.
2. Eat all the food.
3. Chew on the baby's toys.
4. Pop her balloons (in Carl's Day at the Park, he attaches the baby to a bunch of balloons)
5. Poop in the living room.

Anyway, here's my advice: don't let the dog babysit. Especially if he can turn on a blow dryer.