Throwback Thursday, Circa 1942: The Poky Little Puppy

Each Thursday I’ll be featuring a book that my parents *could* have read to me as a toddler (spoiler alert: I’m no spring chicken), so we will go with a publication date of 1983 or earlier; all books must still be in print as of my writing.

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For my first Throwback Thursday, I just had to choose my favorite book as a kid, a book that my parents STILL have memorized: The Poky Little Puppy. For real. I asked my mom today, and her response was “roly-poly, pell-mell…”I have a first edition copy (1942) and love that the price is listed on the cover: $.29!

Title/Author: The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowery, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren

Copyright Date: 1942

Why It’s Timeless: The ending might be a touch abrupt, and our modern sensibilities may not love the idea of sending a little one to bed without dessert (although I see a natural consequence, fresh out of Love & Logic), but here you will find counting, repetition, onomatopoeia, and a fun story about a curious little puppy and his siblings.

While You’re Reading: This is a longer picture book (I’ll allow you to speculate about attention spans in 1942) but moves along with the repetition and predictability throughout.  Be sure to invite your listeners to join in at the chorus. Also, as the puppies count themselves, point to the picture and count along.  As the puppies go up and down the hill searching for the Poky Puppy, pause and allow your child to fill in the blank using the picture cues of what they see.

Happy Reading!

You can find the books listed on my blog at your local library, or through the provided Amazon affiliate links.