Bill Martin Jr.
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Bill Martin Jr. is one of roughly one hundred authors whose work was selected by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list — 120 books chosen across four reading stages, from first lap-reads to first chapter books. The selected book was chosen for how precisely it meets children at a real developmental moment. This recognition cannot be bought: no author or publisher paid to appear on our lists, and we take no commission on any book sale.
About Bill Martin Jr.
Bill Martin Jr. (1916–2004) was born in Hiawatha, Kansas, taught journalism, drama and English in Kansas high schools, and served as an elementary school principal before earning a doctorate in early childhood education from Northwestern University in 1961. He wrote more than 300 books for children.
He was a non-reader through elementary and high school and got by, in his own site's words, 'only because of his excellent ear.' The text of Brown Bear, Brown Bear came to him on an early-morning train, and he had scribbled the whole book in his newspaper margins by the time he reached Grand Central Station; he then chose a young illustrator named Eric Carle, and the 1967 book launched Carle's career.
Also by this author: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom · Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? · Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
Official legacy site: www.billmartinjr.com
Selected for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list
Part of The Best Children’s Books by Age, chosen by the teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX.