Martin Waddell
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Martin Waddell 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 Martin Waddell
Martin Waddell (1941–2025) was a Northern Irish master of the gentle story, twice winner of the Smarties Prize and recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award — the 'little Nobel' of children's literature. Owl Babies remains the definitive separation-anxiety book.
Waddell wrote Owl Babies after seeing a small girl lost in a supermarket, repeating 'I want my mummy' — he went home and wrote the book almost in one sitting.
Also by this author: Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? · Farmer Duck · The Pig in the Pond
Official website: worldofwaddell.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.