STORYWRAPS: Do you know the number one best children's book of all time?

Books are essential in growing up. Children are given books at the earliest age possible, board books to chew on, plastic books for the bathtub and cloth books that are soft and pliable. Is is through books that kids learn to count, learn the alphabet and learn to read and enjoy stories. As they mature, the topics of the book slowly change from basic family and animal stories to one that involves relationships and responsibilities. Some books have been lucky enough to become classics, with timeless stories that can appeal to any era. Here are some of those books to consider if you have not already been introduced to them.

The number one best selling children's book of all time is "The Poky Little Puppy" written by Janette Sebring Lowery.

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The Poky Little Puppy

Author	Janette Sebring Lowrey
Illustrator	Gustaf Tenggren
Country	United States
Series	Little Golden Books
Genre	Children's books
Publisher	Golden Books

The Poky Little Puppy is the titular character and a children's book written by Texas author Janette Sebring Lowrey (2 March 1892–17 March 1986)^[1]^[2]^[3] and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was first published in 1942 as one of the first 12 books in the Simon and Schuster series Little Golden Books. The copyright was renewed in 1970.

In the 1980s a short-lived plush Poky was released, but did not sell well.

As of 2001, it was the single all-time best-selling hardcover children's book in the US, having sold nearly 15 million copies.^[4] 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) had remained in relative obscurity.^[5]

Synopsis[edit]

Instead of following his siblings when they all sneak out to play, the Poky Little Puppy lags behind to observe other things. In the beginning, his independence is rewarded. The puppies had all dug a hole underneath the fence to escape from their yard, but only the Poky Little Puppy's siblings are caught. The Poky Little Puppy avoids punishment because he's off exploring as his mother scolds his siblings, and he comes home alone after everyone is asleep. The Poky Little Puppy then eats the rice pudding that the mother was planning to give all the puppies but withheld because of the fence-digging incident. This pattern then repeats itself, only with chocolate custard for dessert instead of rice pudding.

Only at the end of the book does fate catch up with the Poky Little Puppy. When the puppies are sent to bed without dessert a third time, they wait until they think their mother is sleeping, then sneak out of bed and fill in the hole they'd dug under the fence. She sees them doing this and rewards them with 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. The book concludes with Poky Little Puppy going to bed without a bite and feeling "very sorry for himself." The next day there is a sign outside that says "NO DESSERTS EVER UNLESS PUPPIES NEVER DIG HOLES UNDER THIS FENCE AGAIN!"

The book was published on October 21, 1942 as stated above and has sold to date: 13,898,341 copies.