Wow, this one sneaked up on us as stealthily as the fox that starred in the first book. With great excitement, I rubbed my eyes in disbelief at the news of a sequel to a book I truly, truly loved as a wee whippersnapper. A book I couldn't wait to share with Charlotte as soon as she could toddle - and a book that has stayed in print, and since become a well-loved classic for many millions of folk around the world.

"Rosie's Walk" by Pat Hutchins is deservedly legendary. The tale of a hen toddling off for a walk around her locale doesn't sound in any way groundbreaking or appealing, but when "Rosie's Walk" first appeared, it ushered a new golden era for children's stories where the text took a back seat to the illustrative storytelling, allowing the very youngest of would-be readers to get involved at an early age.

"Rosie's Walk" went on to sell millions of copies. Now here we are in 2015 and it's fantastic to see Pat Hutchins still producing the most wonderful stories and revisiting the hero of her best-known book.

In "Where oh where is Rosie's chick?", Rosie is a mum but seems to have mislaid her new offspring. The chick is not in the henhouse, so Rosie sets off on a journey to locate the missing fluffball (who at this point in the story is still shellbound!)

As with "Rosie's Walk", Pat Hutchins' sense of comedy and timing is utterly perfect as we see Rosie and her chick (who follows dutifully behind her, unbeknownst to Rosie who perhaps ought to get fitted for a pair of specs!) narrowly avoiding a whole new set of dangers in and around the farmyard...including an all-too familiar foe who has brought help this time!

Recapturing the look and feel of a book that's as old as I am (it was published in the same year as I was born) could have gone hideously wrong. Sticking with the original colour palettes, the character designs and the book's layouts was absolutely the right thing to do though, because "Where oh where is Rosie's chick?" instantly feels familiar, well loved and a true homage paid to a mighty classic (It was quite interesting reading the interview with Pat (which we published excerpts of in our recent preview of this very book!)

We both loved this. Me, because it tapped directly into my nostalgic memories of the original with its groovy late 60s / early 70s crazy palettes and solid illustrations (sadly though, my copy was lost at some point in countless house moves but it's a book we've borrowed many many times from the library since). Charlotte loved it because it combines hilarious slapstick with more subtle comedy, though younger children are really going to lap it up (particularly if their parents read both books to them in sequence).

Utterly brilliant. Hope it sells by the truckload. Pat is a national treasure!

Charlotte's best bit: A lovely moment with Rosie and her chick at the end of the story (with a surprise we won't spoil for you!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Instantly familiar and classic, an utterly fabulous sequel to one of the best children's books of all time!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Hodder Children's Books)

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Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins. Sheer picture book perfection!

We're very excited about this book, can you tell?

"Rosie's Walk" is an utterly fantastic and legendary children's book by one of the most amazingly talented children's authors in the world, Pat Hutchins. Pat's tale of an unassuming hen out for a brisk constitutional is a masterpiece of storytelling as we see a wily fox succumb to cruel karma in various comedic ways as he tries to pounce on the hen as she passes by. I fell in love with this book as a tiny wee whippersnapper and couldn't wait to share it with Charlotte when we found a copy nestling between the stacks in our local library. Know what? It's still as fantastic today as it was all those years ago (and you've gotta love that groovy 70s artwork, maaaan!)

News that a sequel was coming had us checking and double-checking our peepers. A sequel? From Pat herself? Are you KIDDING?

No we're not, and in fact here is the awesome cover of "Where oh where is Rosie's Chick"...

Where oh Where is Rosie's Chick by Pat Hutchins.

Hachette have very kindly sent us a brilliant interview with Pat herself, including some insights into her fab art technique revisited here for the new book.

On the original inspiration: ‘I lived in New York for two years with my husband, Laurence. I couldn’t work whilst I was out there because I was a “secondary alien” according to the US government. This was actually great because it gave me the time to concentrate on my illustration. I wanted to write a book about animal noises, which I took in to see a publisher, who pointed out that the most interesting character was the fox who said nothing. I went home and thought about that and from there sprung Rosie’s Walk – the name Rosie is a friend’s pet hen when I was young. I envisioned the book as a sort of silent, funny, film, one where the audience or readers are in on a secret that Rosie doesn’t know – a ‘he’s behind you!’ idea. It’s special not only because it was my first book, but because I had my first son on the same week that the book was published!’

On Rosie’s distinctive palette: ‘I used a ‘pre-separated’ art technique which starts as black and white, and then you layer over different sheets of different colours on top. That’s where Rosie’s Walk’s palette comes from – so obviously for the orange, I layered over red and yellow… When I began Where, Oh Where, is Rosie’s Chick? I was going to include some blue, but it didn’t seem right.’ On returning to Rosie 47 years after initial publication: ‘I only wanted to re-visit Rosie if the story made sense – I didn’t want to create something just for the sake of it. But Rosie having a chick makes sense, and always gives Rosie a way to have another walk without just repeating the same story.’

On the success of Rosie’s Walk: ‘I only lived in New York for two years, so it’s funny that the book is sometimes seen as an American book. I did include a woodchuck in the book for the American audience… It was a lovely surprise when the book was successful so quickly – I was thrilled with my £250 for writing the book, I didn’t expect anything else! It’s really very nice that it’s still read and enjoyed today.’

About Pat Hutchins: Pat Hutchins was born Yorkshire, the sixth of seven children. She won a scholarship to Darlington School of Art in 1958 and continued studying illustration at Leeds College of Art, graduating in 1962. She worked for 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.

Pat Hutchins has written novels for early readers, some illustrated by husband Laurence and more than two dozen picture books. Her work is widely acclaimed; she won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1974 for The Wind Blew.

Pat Hutchins also played the role of an artistic narrowboat owner in the classic children's television series, Rosie and Jim. She has two children and four grandson