“The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins (review)

“The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins is a wonderful and engaging story that has different purposes: It could be used to teach mathematical operations, the importance of sharing, or it could be simply used for the purpose of entertaining. Apart from that, it could be used to teach English. The story is about a mother who makes cookies for her children. Every time the doorbell rings, new children come into the house and are invited to have some cookies. The kids make the division to know how many cookies they can eat. The problem comes when there’s one cookie for each kid and the doorbell rings again.

The purpose of sharing can be seen when the children share the cookies without complaining. What’s more, they receive the new guests happily. So, this book is a great learning experience for children that teaches them not to be selfish and to share their things with others. Furthermore, this story is didactic because it can be used as a visual resource to show students how division actually works. So children will practice math skills when reading this book. As regards English, this story could be read to children that have a background knowledge of the language because sentences are simple and most of them are repeated, such us “the doorbell rang” and “no one makes cookies like Grandma”. These characteristics will make this story more understandable for little kids.

This is a catching book for children because of the colourful pictures it contains. Furthermore, they help children to follow and understand the plot because they express the written set of the story.

“The doorbell rang” is a story that children should read because they will not dislike it. It is enjoyable, funny and didactic. It is one of the best stories for children in the world. They will love the plot and will enjoy it. They won’t regret reading it. Apart from that, this book is a great tool for English and Math teachers as well.

Barros Paola and Gulin Rocío