Before meeting with Logan’s teacher during parent night at school all of the kindergarten parents met in the library, scene of my previous anxiety attack, for a meeting with the reading specialist. She informed the parents that they would be screening the children to see what level they were at and would then go forth accordingly. Slight internal panic…have I taught him enough? Sorry, I’m steering off topic….parental ADD. Back to what I was getting at, she showed us a picture book, Where’s My Teddy by Jane Simon. She explained the benefits of having a child go through a picture book. It helps them gather and comprehend the context of the story visually. I then immediately thought of Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day. Good Dog Carl was a book my son Logan and I used to read all of the time when he was probably 3 and we haven’t read it in a very long time.

This book gives the child the independence to tell you the story. You can engage them and ask questions? What is Carl doing now? Dancing in the living room. The premise of the story is that, as silly as it may be, Carl is left to watch a baby. You get to go through the story of what the baby and Carl do when the mommy is not around. Logan tells the story different every time. Each time we would observe new things going on in the beautifully illustrated pictures. I found our copy of Good Dog Carl on our bookshelf the other day and all three of my boys loved it…again. We’ve read it every night this week. The boys take turns telling what is going on in each page. This story is endearing and engaging. Hope you enjoy it as well.