A few summers ago I picked up this scribbled-on, scribbled-in, musty-smelling copy of The Poky Little Puppy at a yard sale. It was in the give-away pile and I felt sorry for it. Since my copy, actually, both of my copies were in Greene and I was in Cooperstown, I felt like it was the right thing to do.
The Poky Little Puppy is like an old friend. I remember asking my mother to read it to me over and over.
I identified with this independent-minded puppy who followed his own nose instead of the pack.
Of course, it got him into trouble — but this wasn’t like the trouble Sally and her brother could have gotten in in The Cat in the Hat. That book always gave me knots in my stomach. It just seemed like there was something a little malicious about The Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2.
But the Poky Little Puppy was an explorer.
And he eventually paid the price by missing out on strawberry shortcake.
Still, if I were to be made into a storybook character, this would be this one.
Either that, or The Giving Tree, whom I look to as my role model.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
My desire to eat strawberry shortcake as often as humanly possible is directly linked to my love of this book. I’m so glad you rescued this copy. And that Cat in the Hat? Definitely malicious and a little sinister in my humblest ….
This is why we are friends.
C’est vrai!
That’s one I’ve never heard of.
I’m glad you brought the book home … and that I’m not the only one who feels sorry for much-loved books that were given away (I had much-loved books given away as a kid, so I think I’m extra-sensitive to the matter).
I went to a great lecture on the art of Little Golden Books (their illustrators were some of the most influential fine artists of their day), and one of the LGB editors, Diane Muldrow, talked about how she loved finding used LGBs that had been scribbled in … because it meant that a child understood the book was truly theirs, and not something to be looked at on a shelf.
Great post. Thank you.
Sharon E. Cathcart
Award-Winning Author of Fiction Featuring Atypical Characters
It makes sense that a child scribbling in a book shows that they understand ownership. I had never really thought of it that way, though. However, I love to find adult books that have been written in and highlighted too. It gives me a connection with those other readers, you know?
Reblogged this on Usborne Books and More With Niki.