Author | Janette Sebring Lowrey |
---|---|
Illustrator | Gustaf Tenggren |
Language | English |
Series | Little Golden Books |
Genre | Children's books |
Publisher | Golden Books |
Publication date | June 28, 1942 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 24 |
ISBN | 978-0307021342 |
The Poky Little Puppy is a children's book written by Janette Sebring Lowrey and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was first published in 1942 as one of the first twelve books in the Simon & Schuster series Little Golden Books. The copyright was renewed in October 1969.
The Poky Little Puppy is a story about five puppies of undetermined breed. As of 2001, The Poky Little Puppy was the single all-time best-selling hardcover children's book in the U.S., having sold nearly 15 million copies. [1] While the book has outsold many other famous books such as Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham , Lowrey herself (who also wrote stories about children in her home state of Texas) remained in relative obscurity until her death. [2]
The Poky Little Puppy lags behind to explore while his siblings sneak out to play. (That is, instead of staying in their own yard while playing outside.) When his siblings are caught for digging holes under the fence, the puppy escapes punishment by being away. He (not knowing he is going to be punished) secretly avoids punishment, eats the rice pudding, and crawls into bed happy as a lark. (However, the other puppies were denied. And they did not notice the Poky Little Puppy.)
The next day, someone filled the hole. Then a sign was made. The sign said: "DON'T EVER DIG HOLES UNDER THIS FENCE!". But the puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide, world.
This pattern then repeats itself, only with chocolate custard for dessert instead of rice pudding. But their mother was greatly displeased. She (again) punishes the Poky Little Puppy's siblings. (That is, as she says, "So you are the little puppies who are going to dig holes under fences! No chocolate custard tonight!".) Once again, the Poky Little Puppy avoids punishment while everyone else is asleep. He eats up the chocolate custard withheld because of the fence digging incident. Then he (again, not knowing he is going to be punished) secretly avoids punishment, eats the chocolate custard too, and again crawls into bed happy as a lark. (Again, the other puppies were denied. And they --again-- did not notice the Poky Little Puppy.)
The next day, someone filled the hole. Then a sign was made. The sign said: "DON'T EVER, EVER DIG HOLES UNDER THIS FENCE!". But in the spite of that, the puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide, world.
At the end of the book does fate catch up with the Poky Little Puppy. The mother (the third time) almost punishes the Poky Little Puppy's siblings. (That is, as she says to them, "So you are the little puppies who dug a hole under that fence again! No strawberry shortcake for supper tonight!".) When the puppies are sent to bed without dessert a third time (this time being strawberry shortcake), they wait until they think their mother is sleeping. Then they sneak out of bed, make up for their mistake, and fill in the hole they'd dug under the fence. The mother sees them doing this, rewards them to have strawberry shortcake, and tells them to come have strawberry shortcake. The Poky Little Puppy not only arrives too late to get any strawberry shortcake, but is forced to squeeze between the fence boards since the hole has been filled in. Then when he sees his four brothers and sisters licking the last crumbs from their saucers (last crumbs from the shortcake), his mother notes her sympathy about Poky's behavior. She (in comfort) says to him, "Dear me...! What a pity, you are so poky! Now the strawberry shortcake is all gone!". The book concludes with Poky Little Puppy having to go to bed without a single bite from the shortcake, gets a taste of his own medicine, and (since he is forced to go to bed while he watches his siblings eat strawberry shortcake) feels "very sorry for himself". But the incident makes him understand how his brothers and sisters must have felt (that is, from both the "rice pudding" and "chocolate custard" incidents).
On the last page, the next day there is a sign outside. That is, to which the puppies read (including the Poky Little Puppy). Reading it, the sign says: "NO DESSERTS EVER...! ...UNLESS PUPPIES NEVER DIG HOLES UNDER THIS FENCE AGAIN!".
A Christmas special, The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas, aired on Showtime on December 13, 1992. [3]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Jell-O, stylised as JELL-O, is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert, pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a registered trademark of Kraft Heinz, and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert, served after the main meal, or a savoury dish, served as part of the main meal.
Crème caramel, flan, caramel pudding, condensed milk pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
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Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs.
A mille-feuille, also known by the names Napoleon in North America, vanilla slice in the United Kingdom, and custard slice, is a French dessert made of puff pastry layered with pastry cream. Its modern form was influenced by improvements made by Marie-Antoine Carême.
Little Golden Books is an American series of children's books, published since 1942. The Poky Little Puppy, the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States. Many other Little Golden Books have become bestsellers, including Tootle, Scuffy the Tugboat, The Little Red Hen, and Doctor Dan the Bandage Man.
Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries.
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Gustaf Adolf Tenggren was a Swedish-American illustrator and animator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrator for The Walt Disney Company in the late 1930s, in what has been called the Golden Age of American animation, when animated feature films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi and Pinocchio were produced.
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Strawberry Shortcake is a cartoon character used in greeting cards published by American Greetings. The line was later expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products featuring the character, as well as an extended cast of friends and pets. In addition, the franchise has spawned television specials, animated television series and films. The franchise is currently owned by the Canadian children's television company WildBrain through the holding company Shortcake IP Holdings LLC.
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The Ginger Bread Boy is a 1934 animated short by Walter Lantz Productions and is among the many films of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. The story mentioned in the cartoon is based on "The Gingerbread Man", published in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1875.
The Queen-like Closet, Or, Rich Cabinet was a cookery book published in 1670 by the English writer on household management, Hannah Woolley. It ran through five English editions by 1684. At least two German editions were also printed.
Pie in American cuisine has roots in English cuisine and has evolved over centuries to adapt to American cultural tastes and ingredients. The creation of flaky pie crust shortened with lard is credited to American innovation.