The Poky Little Puppy, was written by Janette Selring Lowrey with illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1942, reprint 1949.

One of the first twelve Little Golden books released in October 1942, , The Poky Little Puppy was illustrated by Swedish-born artist Gustaf Tenggren (1896-1970) who studied painting before moving to the United States in 1920. After freelancing and working at Milton Bradley Tenggren's early work included whimsical illustrative styles rich in detail, closely related to the Old European tradition of fairy tales. In 1936 he was hired by Walt Disney and became the chief illustrator for Snow White, Disney’s first feature-length animated production. Tenggren worked on later Disney films including Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio. But after disagreements over individual artistic license and privileges, Tenggren left Disney and moved to the East Coast. He worked for Little Golden Books from 1942 to 1962. His most acclaimed work there is the celebrated The Poky Little Puppy, still the most popular Golden Book ever published.