The Poky Little Puppy is an enduring children's book character owned by Western Publishing, and one of the characters most closely associated with the Little Golden Books line. The puppy first appeared as the eponymous star of a 1942 book, written by Janette Sebring Lowrey. The illustrations, and the character's basic design, were supplied by Gustaf Tenggren, a former Disney artist who had worked on Pinocchio. The book spawned many sequels, from coloring books to "scratch and sniff" titles, as well as toys, ornaments, and television cartoon shorts on the Disney Channel.

The Poky Little Puppy himself is a round-headed, mischievous character, who in many of the stories, digs a hole under the fence and has adventures away from his mother and many siblings. The original book has sold over 15 million copies to date. In 1997, Golden Press combined two of its most successful franchises by introducing the Poky Little Puppy to Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters, in The Poky Little Puppy Comes to Sesame Street.