The Poky Little Puppy

Image from http://www.gustaftenggren.com/

Bibliography:

Lowrey, Janette Sebring. 1942. THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY. Ill. Gustaf Tenggren. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375841385

Plot Summary:

In The Poky Little Puppy, five little puppies mischievously dig out of their yard to go out and explore their wide, wide world.  However, one poky puppy gets sidetracked and doesn't follow his brothers to the top of the hill.  Instead he pokes around, exploring on his own and discovering a wonderful smell.  His brothers go looking for him, and in turn realize what their poky brother has discovered, the delightful smell of rice pudding.  So the four brothers go racing home to eat the yummy food their mother has put out, only to get into trouble for digging out of the fence.   Later, the poky puppy returns after everyone is asleep, and his pokiness leads him to being rewarded by eating the scrumptious rice pudding his brothers didn’t get to eat.  The following day, the brothers are at it again.  This time mom puts out chocolate custard, and the boys are punished for digging out while the poky puppy is rewarded yet again by being the last one in.  On the third day, once more they dig out even though mom’s sign says, “Don’t ever ever dig holes under this fence!”  In his natural fashion the poky puppy falls behind his brothers and smells strawberry shortcake.  The four brothers go racing home and are punished by mom for digging out.  However this time, after mom is asleep the brothers outwit their poky brother and are rewarded by mom with strawberry shortcake, leaving the poky puppy to feel sorry for himself.

Critical Analysis:

Since being published in 1942, this Golden Book has stood the test of time and is beloved by grandparents, parents, and children alike.  The timelessness of the setting allows for this classic to be read through the generations, and still be appreciated over and over again by readers.  Young children are also able to connect to the appealing cast of characters, a mom and her puppies, and the enticing yet predictable plot.  In addition, Janette Lowrey’s use of predictable language helps emergent readers anticipate and engage in the story.

The theme of the story reveals that there are always consequences to your actions.  The puppies consistently made a choice to dig out of the yard and explore their world.  For a while it seemed that the slow, poky puppy was rewarded for being slow.  However, the four brothers tired of being the only ones getting into trouble and figured out a way for the poky brother to suffer the consequence of digging out of the yard and he too finally suffered the consequence of digging and exploration.

Gustaf Tenggren’s enjoyable illustrations of visually stimulating characters and scenery complement the readability of the story.  Children are able to use picture clues to help guide their comprehension and predictableness of the story.  Helping furthermore, is the fact that Tenggren categorized the cast of characters by grouping the four brothers and separating the poky puppy always by himself.

 

Review Excerpts:

"This classic story of naughty puppies and their backyard adventures—complete with fuzzy caterpillars, musical flowers, crickets and frogs and all topped off with dessert—is sure to be a favorite yet again.” (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

–Kirkus Review

“First published in 1942, The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren, stars a curious canine who just can't keep up with the pack.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Connections:

-Read other Golden Books:
1.    Three Little Kittens

2.    Bedtime Stories

3.    Mother Goose

4.    Prayers for Children

5.    The Little Red Hen

6.    Nursery Songs

7.    The Alphabet from A to Z

8.    The Golden Book of Fairy Tales

9.    Baby's Book of Objects

10. The Animals of Farmer Jones

11.  This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes

-Sequence the events of the story as a comic

-Retell the story using felt story board characters or puppets