Titch

Titch

by Pat Hutchins

A boy discovers that being little can mean big things in this charming story by author-illustrator Pat Hutchins.

Titch is little. Everything he has is little, from his little pinwheel to his little tricycle. His brother Pete and his sister Mary are big. Everything they have is bigger and better than what Titch has. Their kites fly high above the houses and trees, and their bicycles are large and fast. But when Titch plants a little seed, it begins to grow…and grow…and grow!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Storytime, School, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Pat Hutchins is an English illustrator and writer of children's books.

She won the 1974 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. The work was The Wind Blew, a picture book in rhyme which she also wrote. It shows how "a crowd of people anxiously chase their belongings" in the wind.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titch has a brother and sister who are both bigger than him. They are faster than him and beat him at games and races. When they plant some seeds Titch finds he excels at last and his plant just keeps on growing.

My feelings about this book are mixed with memories of an animated series of this book from several decades ago, it always had a depressing feel to it where 90% of things Titch couldn't do or things went wrong for because he was too small and the book gave me a similar feeling. This might be a book small children who feel powerless and left out can empathise with or it might perpetuate the 'you're too small' mentality towards little ones.

Read on openlibrary

[Yashpreet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titch is a story about a little boy who possesses things that are little. This big brother and sister possess things that are big. During the story Titch has a small seed which he puts in his sister's big pot. After a while the seed grew bigger and bigger and bigger.

I liked this story because it has educational themes which can directly relate to themes taught in the EYFS but it can be a bit boring to read more then twice to the class.

The story enabled children to really understand the concepts of what big and small, high and low means. It also relates to growth, the life cycle of a plant can be discussed after this story which has been illustrated throughout this book. The topic of growth can lead to how children grow themselves and how they have changed themselves.

I believe this book lacks excitement but it has very good educational themes.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titch is small, smaller than his older sister and brother. He is always having less important things to do, until they decide to do some planting. Titch plants the seed. And look what happens when something small grows.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun for the youngest sibling when they want nothing more than to be big.

Mother Tongue notes: The more challenging nouns are aided by the illustrations, while the supporting sentence words are basic for beginners.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the most memorable pictures books I've read, and Pat Hutchins strikes just the right chords in delivering her worthy message.

[Ali Hussein · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite book as a child. Ah the memories.

[Neelam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titch is a story about a boy who is the youngest and the smallest. His elder siblings Pete and Mary are seen to be bigger and better than him. Throughout this story we are shown how Titch and his siblings are compared to one another and this ends up making Titch feel very sad and small. Titch has a seed and plants it in the ground and it ends up growing into something bigger and better than his siblings could every do. Titch is presented with an opportunity to be more important and symbolically bigger than either of his siblings.

There is educational theme to this book where children find out that we all start off small and grow into something big. Pat reinforces the value and comparison of the words such a little, big and bigger. It is a really good book for young children to learn and visually see the comparison between the words. It uses simple characterisation and illustration to capture young readers. I think children in reception and KS1 will be able to read this book on their own by sounding out the word as well as using the pictures to help them.

[Farhana Begum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a pleasant read about a little boy called Titch who has an older brother and a sister. Titch’s siblings are not only older than him but they are taller too. Titch found himself the smallest in every game or activity they did together. On day, Titch had the responsibility of growing a tiny seed which soon turned out to grow into a huge plant surpassing the height of his siblings. Titch finally knew how it felt to be the biggest.

Eventually, Titch and his sibling’s soon realise that being the smallest isn’t such a bad thing. Not only, does this book make children realise that size does not matter, it also cleverly describes the life cycle of plants growing. New readers are able to read this book as it uses simple text. The illustrations fill the entirety of the pages allowing children to clearly see the on-going activities of Titch and his siblings. A great book to add to any book shelf collection.

[Serina Kwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Titch’ by Pat Hutchins is a story about a little boy who has everything that is little. His brother and sister have things that are bigger, bigger bicycle that goes faster and bigger kite that flies up higher. However, Titch has a tiny seed. To everyone surprises, this tiny seed grows bigger and bigger everyday. Eventually, it turns into something that is much bigger than anything his brother and sister has. This story is wonderful for children in EYFS. It is good for introducing mathematical concept of big and little, high and low to children as the illustration are very clear in displaying the contrast. Besides, it is also a great book about growth. It shows the life cycle of plant and it can be easily linked to the life cycle of human and how children are growing themselves. Nevertheless, one drawback of the book is that it is a little plain and unexciting. It is good for introducing the concept, but children might find it boring if this story is revisit a few times in the week.

[Zee Zahri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes the way children feel as they watch the older children experience things first very well. Whether is it a year 2 class who are upset that the Year 3 class are allowed to go swimming, or the youngest in the family watching their elder sibling get their first real bike. A very good book to teach patience to children.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the most memorable pictures books I've read, and Pat Hutchins strikes just the right chords in delivering her worthy message.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remembered liking this one as a kid and got it out of the library to read my 2 year old. She loved it and we ended up reading it 4 times in a day. Just a sweet, simple, funny story about Titch who feels too little compared to his siblings. It manages to just show without telling, never getting into the feelings Titch has about being small but so clearly getting the point across with his siblings flying their big tall kites and Titch standing there with his little pinwheel. A great one for anyone who's felt too little to realize little things have a lot of potential, without getting too heavy handed about it.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pat Hutchins' Titch is the sweet start of a series that's sure to grow... like Titch, a three year old with an odd name and dreams bigger than, well, he is! His big brother and sister have the big kite, the big bike, the big everything while Titch has only a mere trike and a pinwheel to play with. Things change when the older sibs have the flowerpot, and Titch carries the seed, and once the seed grows and flowers, so will Titch and his family. In future books, maybe we'll see the Son of a Titch.... nah! Probably won't sell.
Four stars
Titch in time will save you trouble!

[Imaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For nursery and reception children this book is perfect .This book supports children to learn the concept of big and small and develop a deeper meaning that it does not matter if you are small , or you have small things they can turn out to be great achievements. This book would be great to use for children in science when learning about plants and their growth.Even though their were time’s where Titch seemed to be left out , he was always included . Titch may have not had the big items ,but he showed by having a small seed he could create and do something amazing too.

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An oldie but a goodie.

Hard to believe this was first published about 30 years go. It is still going strong, and I guess that shows it is a classic. My 3 year old loved it read over and over and now he is starting to read himself, is re-discovering it all over again as HE reads the words.

Simple, but effective illustrations which help move the story along.
Terrific.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and direct in its approach and inclusive message for siblings. While youngest siblings will probably connect best with Titch, the generous cooperation between all three siblings, and how all three are included equally and without judgement of their abilities, is quite nice, and valuable to any child.

[Spencer Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very simple and didn’t have that much meat to it. Illustrations were kind of boring but I think it would be a good read for a kindergartner or first grader who is struggling to read. This book is contemporary realistic and is in the kindergarten to first grade range.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Target audience will probably like this more. I kept waiting for the rest of the story, but there isn't one... it's just a long build up and then a punch line. And honestly, the picture is of a girl, not a boy (but hey & yay for non-binary, I guess... ;).

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that stealthy teaches big, medium, little - and how the littlest can have a huge impact.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, but big ones, probably because we read a bunch of crap this library visit.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cutely done, but nothing special.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about the pressures of being the little sibling. Love it.

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that helps children learn to read. The story focuses on helping children read complete sentences with prepositions. The story does not rhyme. It takes two minutes to read.

[Chappyfamily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even the littles have something to offer

[Ammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had me laughing out loud. 🤣

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice picture book about being the youngest

[Lyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kinda good.

[Elijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

2.5 year old liked it so much we read it three times in a row. Mommy thought it was boring.

[Karen Dransfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

(2022) A story about Titch who is the smallest and everything he has is smaller than his big sister and his even bigger brother. Until one day he plants a seed. A fun story.

[Cammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Titch finally has something that is bigger than his brother and sister. Cute storyline for little ones.