Summary

The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowery, with illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren, is one of the original 12 Little Golden Books.  Since 1942, children 3 years and older have enjoyed the antics of the five little puppies in the meadow.  Each time the puppies explored “the wide, wide world,” there was always one little puppy not to be found - the poky little puppy.

The Story

The text of The Poky Little Puppy is repetitive and rhythmic throughout the story, beginning with the first sentence, “Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world.”  The most popular refrain remembered through the last seventy years is most likely, “And down they went to see, roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, till they came to the green grass; and there they stopped short.” 

And what do the puppies do when they get to the top of the hill, they always count themselves: one, two, three, and four.  Yes the fifth puppy, the poky little puppy, is not there.  Each time they look for the poky little puppy the other puppies always see something different going up or down the hill.  It might be a fuzzy caterpillar, a green lizard, a black spider, a brown hop-toad, a grass snake, or a big grasshopper. 

Although the four little puppies make it home in time for dinner, their mother is so displeased about the hole digging she makes them go straight to bed without dessert.  After everyone is sound asleep, it’s the poky little puppy who comes home and eats up all the dessert.  He enjoys desserts from rice pudding to chocolate custard.

The bright bold pictures drawn with watercolors complement the descriptive text of The Poky Little Puppy.  The story is easy to read as the text, in a good-sized font, is placed on a white background above and/or below the cheerful illustration on each page.

  There are only two double-page illustrations, the first showing the opening scene where the four little puppies are at the top of the hill counting themselves and looking for that poky little puppy.

The second one finds the poky little puppy at the bottom of the hill sniffing the ground while the four little puppies peek over the hill.  It is interesting the illustrator drew all of the other little creatures indicated in the text except for the big black spider.  Each little puppy looks like the others except the artist has drawn them with different colors, spots, and patches to distinguish them from the poky little puppy.

Author Janette Sebring Lowrey And Illustrator Gustaf Tenggren

As of 2001, Publisher’s Weekly reported that The Poky Little Puppy was the best-selling children's hardcover book of all time with domestic sales of close to 15 million.  Despite the books enduring popularity, it is not unusual for only a few people to be able to name the author, Janette Sebring Lowrey.  She was born in Orange in 1892 and was active as an author of books for children from the 1930’s through the 1970’s. Lowrey died in 1994.  The Poky Little Puppy was her most famous book. Margaret, another of her popular books, was written for adolescent girls.  In 1958, Margaret served as the basis for Walt Disney's five-part series showcasing Annette Funicello, which Disney titled “Annette.”

Gustaf Tenggren was the second youngest of seven children born in 1896 in Vastergotland, Sweden.  His parents were decorative artists and his talent evident, Tenggren's formal art training when he was 12 years old.  After his father and sisters' immigrated to the United States, settling for severl years in Cleveland, Ohio. When Tenggren moved to New York in the 1920’s his artistic career really took off. 

When he was forty, Tenggren accepted an offer to work for Walt Disney’s studios in Los Angeles, contributing to such films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Pinocchio, but returned to New York after four years. The skills he had developed at Disney made him an excellent candidate to work for Golden Books. The Saggy Baggy Elephant, and Tawny Scrawny Lion along with The Poky Little Puppy.  Today his work is part of the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota.

(Sources: Beaumontenterprise.com, Welcome to the World of Gustaf Tenggren,
Marcus, Leonard. Golden Legacy, Golden Books, an imprint of Random House, 2007.)

What Makes The Poky Little Puppy So Appealing?

The Poky Little Puppy has not won many of the available picture book awards.  Even so, since its publication, it has never been out of print.  This reviewed copy is the traditional design of a Little Golden Book with the cardboard covers, the golden spine, and of course the open book on the inside cover for the owner to write his/her name – “This book belongs to.“

Why has this been a childhood favorite for so many?  Perhaps it its the cozy illustrations, the rhythmic and repetitive text, or is it that every child can identify with being poky and the consequences for being naughty, or is it the poky little puppy's knack for frequently escaping the consequences by being poky?  Whatever the reason, take a moment to smell the roses with a child on your lap and share The Poky Little Puppy. (Golden Books, 1942, renewed by Random House in 1970. ISBN: 9780307021342)

More Classic Picture Books, Recommended by Elizabeth Kennedy
There are a number of picture books that have delighted several generations of young children and become classics. Among them are Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, which was illustrated by Crocket Jonhnson, who also wrote and illustrated the classic Harold and the Purple Crayon. One of the beloved bedtime books is the classic picture book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.