Pat Hutchins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pat Hutchins
Hutchins in 2017
Born	Patricia Evelyn Hutchins (1942-06-18)18 June 1942 Yorkshire, England
Died	8 November 2017(2017-11-08) (aged 75) London, England
Occupation	Author, TV presenter, illustrator
Nationality	British
Notable works	Rosie and Jim (1995–1996) Titch (1997–1998)
Spouse	Laurence Hutchins
Children	2

Patricia Evelyn Hutchins (18 June 1942 – 8 November 2017) was an English illustrator, writer of children's books and broadcaster. She won the 1974 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association for her book The Wind Blew. On screen she was best known as the owner of the 'Ragdoll boat' in the long-running children's series Rosie and Jim.

Hutchins was married to illustrator Laurence Hutchins, with two children. She wrote books for early readers that he illustrated.

Biography

Hutchins was born 18 June 1942 in Yorkshire, the sixth of seven children. She won a scholarship to Darlington School of Art in 1958, continued studying illustration at Leeds College of Art in 1960, and graduated in 1962. She worked for an advertising agency in London to 1966 when she married Laurence Hutchins and moved to New York City for two years. There she worked on writing and illustrating her first picture book, Rosie's Walk, published in 1968 by The Bodley Head and Macmillan US. In the United States, it was a runner-up for the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the librarians named it a 1968 ALA Notable Book. It remains her work most widely catalogued by WorldCat participating libraries. Titch and its sequels were noted for drawing on Hutchins' family life for its depiction of a sibling relationship.

Pat Hutchins wrote novels for early readers, some illustrated by husband Laurence, and more than two dozen picture books. Beside winning the 1974 Greenaway Medal, she was a commended runner up for One-Eyed Jack (1979), another book she wrote and illustrated.

In 1995, Hutchins took over from John Cunliffe as the presenter of the British children's television series, Rosie and Jim. She played the role of an artistic narrowboat owner and illustrator, referred to as Loopy Lobes by the two puppet characters on account of the large and elaborate earrings she wore during her tenure. Hutchins appeared in 45 episodes over two series and subsequently illustrated books for the franchise.

Hutchins died from cancer on 8 November 2017 at the age of 75.

Selected works

Hutchins has both written and illustrated about fifty books.

Illustrated by Laurence Hutchins

These five books were all written by Pat Hutchins, illustrated by Laurence Hutchins, and published by The Bodley Head.

• The House that Sailed Away (Bodley, 1976; Greenwillow, 1975)
• Follow That Bus! (Bodley, 1977)
• The Mona Lisa Mystery (Bodley, 1981)
• The Curse of the Egyptian Mummy (Bodley, 1983)
• Rats! (Bodley, 1989)

VHS videos and DVDs