Julia Donaldson
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Julia Donaldson 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 Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson was UK Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013, and in January 2025 became Britain's best-selling author. The Gruffalo had sold over 13.5 million copies by 2019.
She busked with her husband Malcolm during their university holidays, singing outside cafés, and later wrote songs for BBC children's programmes. One of those songs, 'A Squash and a Squeeze', became her first picture book in 1993, when she was 44 — and her first collaboration with illustrator Axel Scheffler.
Also by this author: Room on the Broom · Stick Man · The Snail and the Whale
Official website: www.juliadonaldson.co.uk
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.