Else Holmelund Minarik
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Else Holmelund Minarik 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 Else Holmelund Minarik
Else Holmelund Minarik (1920–2012), a Danish-born first-grade teacher, wrote Little Bear because her students had nothing worthy to practice on — and in doing so launched HarperCollins' I Can Read line, the first true easy-reader series.
Teaching in rural New York, she brought the manuscript to legendary editor Ursula Nordstrom, who paired her with a young Maurice Sendak; the 1957 result created an entire genre.
Also by this author: Father Bear Comes Home · Little Bear’s Visit · A Kiss for Little Bear
Publisher page: www.harpercollins.ca/author/cr-166494/else-holmelund-minarik
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.