Alexandra Day

The book was first published in 1985 by Day's own publishing company, Green Tiger Press. Good Dog, Carl has been followed by a whole series of popular Carl books, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

• Name — Alexandra Day • Birth Name — Sandra Louise Woodward • Born — 27 April 1941 • Birthplace — Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. • Occupation — Writer/illustrator • Genre — Children's picture books • Notable Works — Good Dog, Carl • Website — https: gooddogcarl.com

Day was born in 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio to a large and close-knit family. Painting was a popular family recreation, and almost every family excursion included one or more easels and a variety of sketch pads, chalks, paints, and pencils. For four years, the family lived on a hundred-acre farm in Kentucky. Here young Sandra grew especially fond of riding and training horses, and became a dog owner for the first time. Living in the country also provided plenty of time for reading, a life-long passion.

She and her husband, Harold Darling, founded a publishing company, Green Tiger Press, in 1970. Meanwhile, Day began a career in illustration, and illustrated her first book in 1983: The Teddy Bears' Picnic, based on a popular children's song by Jimmy Kennedy. In 1986 the Green Tiger was sold to Simon & Schuster and the Darlings started a book packaging company called Blue Lantern Publishing. In 1993, the Darlings moved to Seattle and founded a new publishing company, Laughing Elephant. Harold died in 2016 and Laughing Elephant is now run by Day and her children, Benjamin and Sacheverell.

According to Day, the inspiration for Good Dog, Carl came from a trip to Zurich, Switzerland in 1983. Day and her husband saw in a bookshop window an antique German picture sheet by the great German illustrator and pop-up artist, Lothar Meggndorfer, of a poodle playing with a baby who was supposed to be taking a nap. This image proved the inspiration for Good Dog, Carl. Day's own dog, a Rottweiler named Toby, was the model for the book's main character, and since then five other family Rottweilers have been models for the books. All of the dogs have had their own names: Arambarri, Zabala, Zubiaga, Zulaica and Abelard. Day's granddaughter, Madeleine was the inspiration and model for the baby in the original Carl book. Carl's Christmas was a New York Times bestseller. Beside the "Carl" series, Day created the Frank and Ernest series of books featuring a bear and an elephant who engage in the colorful language of diners, CBers and baseball.

• Good Dog, Carl, Green Tiger Press, 1985 • Carl Goes Shopping, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989 • Carl's Christmas, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990 • Carl's Afternoon in the Park, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1991 • Carl's Masquerade, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992 • Carl Goes to Daycare, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1993 • Carl Pops Up, Simon & Schuster, 1994 • Carl Makes a Scrapbook, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994 • My Puppy's Record Book, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994; Laughing Elephant, 2005 • Carl's Birthday, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1995 • Carl's Baby Journal, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996 • Follow Carl!, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998 • Carl's Sleepy Afternoon, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005 • You're a Good Dog, Carl!, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007 • Carl's Summer Vacation, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008 • Carl's Snowy Afternoon, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009 • Carl and the Puppies, Square Fish, 2011 • Carl and the Baby Duck, Square Fish, 2011 • Carl and the Kitten, Square Fish, 2011 • Carl and the Sick Puppy, Square Fish, 2012 • Carl at the Dog Show, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2012 • Carl's Halloween, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015 • Carl and the Baby Elephant, Laughing Elephant, 2016 • Goodnight, Good Dog Carl, Laughing Elephant, 2019 • Good Dog Carl's Valentine, Laughing Elephant, 2021 • Good Dog Carl Visits the Zoo, Laughing Elephant, 2021 • Good Dog Carl Goes to School, Laughing Elephant, 2023 • Good Dog Carl Goes to a Party, Laughing Elephant, 2023 • Good Dog Carl Helps Out, Laughing Elephant, 2024 • Carl Goes Shopping 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Carl Goes to Daycare 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Carl's Afternoon in the Park 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Carl's Masquerade 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Carl's Sleepy Afternoon 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Good Dog Carl and the Baby Elephant 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Good Dog Carl's Valentine 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025 • Goodnight Good Dog Carl 40th Anniversary Edition, Laughing Elephant, 2025

Alexandra Day is recorded with the occupation children's writer. Recorded with the occupation illustrator. Recorded as a citizen of United States.