Rosie's Walk - Who remembers the filmstrip - or the Weston Woods film? Hutchins' artwork was perfect for the simple animation that Weston Woods used.
Changes, Changes was one of my all time favorite wordless picture books. Still is. The block family reacts quickly and cleverly to a number of disasters. This picture book would be useful during community helpers week.
Pat Hutchins' books encompass so much. Think of Changes, Changes. In there we find the concepts of colors, shapes, sequencing, events and their consequences, action and reaction. There are SO MANY ways to view each book Hutchins wrote and illustrated.
In The Doorbell Rang, children meet the concept of division as two children must share their cookies with more and more friends. The welcome kitchen, the tension as the number of cookies shrink on the children's plates and the repetitive refrain set the reader up for the big ending.
Hutchins' illustrations give clues to what might happen next and give pre-readers so much to search for and find.
I COULD spend the rest of the post naming each of her books and how I might use them with a young listener or in storytime. But I don't need to. Go to the library and borrow her books. Read them; share them. You will find a character or a story that pleases you - whether you like monsters, parties, toys, farms or families.
The very saddest thing when a great artist or writer dies is that we will never know what comes next. Pat Hutchins left us with a treasure chest of reading fun. We will miss her but we should never forget her.
Here is Pat Hutchins' obituary from Publisher's Weekly.
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