Written and Illustrated by Alexandra Day
Carl is one of my favorite dog characters in literature. This is a sweet story about Carl and Madeleine visiting a dog show. I thought Carl would get into more trouble, but he wasn’t as much of a character as he usually is. It was more of an exploring story. Carl and Madeleine visited a dog show and saw what went on there. There is a loving feel to the story, and not many words. There is a reference to Carl being a good babysitter that will remind readers of his other books.
This book has a nice feature at the end. “Be a dog detective” is like “I Spy” for beginners. There are pictures of dogs in the back of the book with the name of their breed. The reader could go back through the book to find the different breeds of dogs that appear throughout the book. This is a nice way to teach children that good readers go back to the book to find information. This also has some information about dog shows that people might find interesting.
It’s a nice story.
Review by Cheryl Baker, Mill Creek Elem. School Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades PreK-2
Carl at the Dog Show
Written and Illustrated by Alexandra Day
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
40 pages
Release Date: January 17, 2012
ISBN: 9780374310837 (hardcover)
