The Poky Little Puppy is the fifth in a long-running series of children's books known as Little Golden Books. It was written by Janette Sebring Lowrey (1892-1986), and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren (1896-1970).
The story follows a family of five puppy siblings who dig holes under a fence to escape their backyard and explore the world in front of them. The puppies' mother punishes them for this by not giving them dessert with their dinner. One of them, the titular Poky Little Puppy, avoids this punishment twice by being away exploring, and by eating all the dessert (first rice pudding, then chocolate custard) while everyone else is asleep.
Finally, after a third instance of digging under the fence and losing out on dessert (this time, strawberry shortcake), the four puppies (Poky being away exploring as usual) wait until they think their mother is asleep before filling in the hole. Their mother, pleased at seeing this, gives them the strawberry shortcake. Poky arrives home to find that the hole has been filled in (he had to squeeze through a gap in the fence) and that the strawberry shortcake was all gone.
In the end, a sign is fixed to the fence saying, "No desserts ever unless puppies never dig holes under this fence again!"
This book contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Animal Care: The puppies are excited at the prospect of receiving rice pudding, chocolate custard, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. None of these are good for dogs; chocolate, in particular, is poisonous to dogs. (Plain cooked rice is fine, and some plain strawberries are fine, although the latter in moderation because of the natural sugar.)
- Canine Confusion: The puppies are ready to eat rice pudding, chocolate custard, and strawberry shortcake, but none of those are healthy to dogs (especially the chocolate custard). After Poky's siblings go to bed without their dessert, Poky eats all of it himself and doesn't suffer from any negative effects.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Downplayed, in that while the puppies presumably get a proper dinner, it is dessert specifically that is denied the puppies for digging holes under the fence. In the end, a warning is posted on the fence that dessert will be denied all the puppies permanently if they dig under the fence again.
- Karma Houdini: Poky, at first. He escapes punishment twice, even though he's just as guilty, by being away while their mother scolds his siblings for digging under the fence and getting home after everyone else is asleep, eating all the rice pudding, and all the chocolate custard, and climbing into bed "happy as a lark."
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ultimately, Poky loses out on strawberry shortcake because he's away while his siblings fill in the hole they had made under the fence. He goes to bed "feeling very sorry for himself."
- Precious Puppies: Poky and his siblings.
- Rule of Three: The story takes place over three days, with the exact same pattern the first two days (the puppies dig a hole under a fence and "[go] for a walk in the wide, wide world" and lose out on dessert (except for Poky); the third day, however, ends with the four other puppies filling in the hole under the fence and only Poky losing out on dessert. In addition, each time, there is a sign fixed to the fence the next day: First, "Don't EVER dig holes under this fence!" Then, "Don't ever, EVER, dig holes under this fence!" Finally, as an ultimatum, "No desserts EVER unless puppies NEVER dig holes under this fence again!"
