Little One Book Review: “The Poky Little Puppy” by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren (Little Golden Book)

Read together (with Mimi) November 14, 2019

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

Book #7 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Mommy and I received a special treat last week when my grandma (affectionately known as “Mimi”) read to us. She didn’t read just ANY book, either; she read one of Mommy’s favorite books from childhood: “The Poky Little Puppy.”

The Poky Little Puppy
(Little Golden Book)
by Janette Sebring Lowrey
(Illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren)
Originally published 1942
Hardcover, 26 pages
Simon and Schuster

Mommy and I received a special treat last week when my grandma (affectionately known as “Mimi”) read to us. She didn’t read just ANY book, either; she read one of Mommy’s favorite books from childhood: “The Poky Little Puppy” by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. (Mommy admits that she never knew the author and illustrator by name and she also had no idea this book has been around since 1942!!)

It was a special book for Mimi to read because it holds an equally special place in Mommy’s heart. Mimi read from the original copy Mommy had when she was a little girl — and we all noticed how worn and deeply loved the book was. There were even scribbles in the back of the book where Mommy made her mark, probably trying to “write” her name there. Generational memories are certainly being made…

As for the book itself, we liked it, although the language proved that it was considerably outdated. (1942, remember!) For example, we don’t use words like “roly poly” or “pell-mell” anymore (although they are funny, repetitive words that work well with the story of puppies rolling down hills and digging into gardens.)

Of course, this story is about one poky little puppy who, while he’s good at playing, refuses to “play” by the rules. This book reminded me of Marley the dog, because both puppies are known for being mischievous. So mischievous, in fact, that this one little poky puppy is about to miss out on some delicious dessert if he doesn’t STOP digging in the dirt. (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t stop digging in the dirt).

The story kept my attention pretty well; like the narrator, I desperately needed to know where that poky little puppy was from page to page; he wouldn’t stay still! The illustrations were incredibly vintage but they fit the story well.

Mommy honestly didn’t remember much about this book plot-wise (not that it has a complicated plot, folks, because it certainly doesn’t) but she recalled the illustrations. She also recalled that her love of books and reading started with this particular book from childhood. For this reason and others, she wanted it to be one of the first books I read. Now we can check it off the list — but we will surely revisit it once I’m older.

What’s your favorite children’s book? Are your childhood memories wrapped up in your childhood reading experiences? As readers, that’s often where our memories and experiences come together: right between the pages of a good book!

Until Next Time,

Mama & Logan

Little One Book Review: “Bone Soup” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, pictures by Tom Knight

Read together October 31, 2019

Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

Book #6 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Little One Book Review: Mommy and I read this book on Halloween night. Although we liked it, we didn’t love it. “Bone Soup” was inspired by another story called “Stone Soup.” (There’s a brief description of the original story in the back of the book.) This will be a very quick review.

Mommy and I read this book on Halloween night. Although we liked it, we didn’t love it. “Bone Soup” was inspired by another story called “Stone Soup.”

Bone Soup: A Spooky, Tasty Tale
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, pictures by Tom Knight
2018
Hardcover, 32 pages
Simon Schuster

Three witches (who are rather cute, we must say) are trying to make Bone Soup, and they need a wide variety of necessary ingredients to fill their cauldron. It takes the work of several hideous creatures (including a vampire, goblin, ghost, monster, mummy, etc) to gather and combine the ingredients, making this book a moral story about teamwork and helpfulness toward others.

Although we appreciate the lesson of the story, the book was a little longer than we liked. For us, it was one of those books that you can read just once and not revisit. The three stars are primarily because of the illustrations, which are quite adorable.

On to the next holiday!!

Cheers,

Mama & Logan

Little One Book Review: “Snowmen at Halloween” by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner (Illustrations)

Read together October 29, 2019

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

Book #5 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Little One Book Review: Mommy and I read this book two nights before Halloween, and it really put us in the mood for the 31st. Although I was too young to go trick-or-treating this year, this book was my introduction to the “haunting” holiday.

Our first Halloween-themed book! We give it 5/5 ⭐️ for the story, rhymes, and the cozy-warm illustrations. We look forward to continuing the series.

Snowmen at Halloween
by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner (Illustrations)
2019
Hardcover, 32 pages
Dial Books

It is a snowy October day, like Mommy used to experience up north. It is close to Halloween, and a brother and sister build a row of snowmen and decorate them with the sister’s dress-up clothes. The snowmen look so fetching, that the siblings entertain each other by wondering what snowmen do when no one is looking. It turns out, snowmen get up to a lot of celebratory antics during the haunting season!

When people aren’t around, the magical snowmen of the world celebrate Halloween in a similar fashion to their human counterparts. They dress up like pirates, vampires, witches, ghosts, hippies, Frankenstein, mummies, and one even wears a lampshade on their head! They gather around the campfire (blazing amidst a recent snowfall) and tell scary ghost stories. They spend the night roasting marshmallows and bobbing for candy apples at a snowmen festival. They march off in a parade to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. These snowmen participate in all manner of Halloween-themed activities, proving that the brother and sister have very active imaginations.

It’s all fun and games the night of Halloween, but in the morning the snowmen have disappeared, leaving nothing but a pile of dress-up clothes and Halloween accessories on the brother and sister’s lawn. It’s been a wild ride for the snowmen, but they’ve had enough fun to last them until the next season.

The whole book (which we enjoyed partly because it rhymes) is the imaginings of the brother and sister. We really liked the illustrations that accompanied the text; they felt muted and cozy and warm–despite the snow depicted on every page.

We checked out the additional titles in the series and we hope our library has “Snowmen at Christmas,” since that’s Mommy’s favorite holiday.

Keep Turning Pages,

Mama & Logan