The Poky Little Puppy

by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren

What is it about The Poky Little Puppy that has such lasting appeal? Is it the way the naughty puppy siblings repeatedly sneak through the fence into the wide, wide world? Is it the way they count themselves at the top of the hill, “one, two, three, four,” and discover that the fifth, the Poky Little Puppy of the title, is missing, every single time? Or is it the way they bound down the hill to find out what that poky puppy is doing (“roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, till they came to the green grass; and there they stopped short”)?  Whatever the attraction may be for your youngsters, as they read and reread this tail of five furry siblings, they will learn to count to five, and to love the rhythms and playfulness of language. They will discover how valuable the senses can be when it comes to detecting what’s for dessert, and most of all, they will find out (gently) the consequences when one does not follow the rules.