N is for a narrative book called "The Poky Little Puppy": Library Notes

I am writing this post on the day we had to say "Night Night" and farewell to our dog named Kia.

Kia was a very sweet 12 year dog who has taken to being by my side although he is actually my mother's dog.  As I went to write about The Night Sky and Night Animals and The City at Night, I was torn because I really wanted to tell you all about Kia and honour him.

So, I chose a "N is for Narrative" story book about a puppy.  I always called Kia 'my puppy'. I chose this book because it is a classic Little Golden Book that was written in the year my mother was born so it seemed like a good selection since Kia was hers. Also, there is a cute little lizard on the cover as well which is appropriate since my son will soon be getting a pet lizard. The gecko has been given a name that starts with 'N' too. She will be named 'Nyla' which means 'Champion' in Hebrew and 'Winner' in Greek.

The Poky Little Puppy is a story of a curious little puppy who was on adventures nearly 80 years ago! A narrative story written by Janette Sebring Lowrey, the book's illustrator was Gustaf Tenggren who later worked for Disney, on Snow White, Pinnochio, and Bambi.

I suggest you write your own puppy adventures.  If you have a dog you can make a collection of his or her stories but if not, you can just create your own.  

The books starts with 5 puppies going for a walk.  Can you draw a map of where they were going on their adventure?  They went under the fence, through the meadow, down the road, over the bridge, across the green grass and up the hill. 

Did you notice all of the prepositions you can practice here?  As you build on this story, you can have a toy puppy in your hand and put him under a chair, going through the room, down the stairs, over a box, across the sofa and up the wall.  Why not?  He is on an adventure! 

So, as the puppies get to the top of the hill they do a head count.  Count with them from one to five. Oh, wait!  One is missing! Where is he? Can you guess?  Can you find him?

As they searched, what did they find?  What adjectives did they use for the puppy, caterpillar and lizard?  How would you describe your toy puppy or something else you see as you look around?

Did you notice that they were curious and so they were asking questions? Where was the puppy? What in the world was he doing?  Questions are key to learning and should be encouraged.

Look at those puppies!  Can you run around in circles or tumble/roll down the hill like the puppies?  Maybe if you are out in the park when you read this book you can do just that!

They smelled rice pudding and went home for dinner.  This is a good connection to a sensory activity involving smell.  For example, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves can be used in rice pudding. What do they smell like?  Find some and see if your child can guess which one is which.  You can also make rice pudding for dessert on the day you choose to read The Poky Little Puppy.  Do you like it as much as the puppies do?

The puppy was "as happy as a lark."  This is a simile: a comparison using like or as.  What is a lark? (a bird) Why are larks happy? Did you ever think about where this phrase came from?

Uh-oh!  The puppies didn't listen!  What do you think is going to happen next?  This is a perfect spot to pause and consider the consequences of our actions and get them to think about rules and obedience.

Now the pattern repeats itself as they head out on another adventure.  What are the differences this time?  Examples:  They saw different animals.  The puppy heard something this time instead of smelling it.

What is the sound of a spoon in a bowl?  Can the child guess what is making other sounds?  Examples:  Shake your keys, move a chair, bounce a ball.  Without looking, can they guess the origin of the sound?

Again the pattern repeats with the puppy seeing something this time.

Did you notice that you can use this book to talk about the difference between down and up? You can practice these words with early learners and have them see different toys going up or coming down and label which direction they are going.

What do you think of the ending?  Is it fair?  

They had some really good desserts didn't they?  Which one would you like best?

I hope these ideas inspire you to read the classic book, The Poky Little Puppy.  

If there is a puppy/dog in your life, please give him or her extra love today in honour of Kia.

Thank you.

Here are three titles by Usborne books about the night.  There are even more if you look at titles about stars and planets visible at night. They discuss night animals, the city at night and the night sky too. So, in case you really wanted more on that theme, these are some quality suggestions for you.