Bill Martin Jr.

William Ivan Martin Jr. (March 20, 1916 – August 11, 2004) was an American educator, publishing executive, and author of more than 300 children's books including The Sounds of Mystery, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (co-authored with John Archambault), Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (all collaborated with illustrator Eric Carle). The Bill Martin Jr. Award, which is the Kansas state award for best children's picture book, was established in his honor in 1996.

Early life and education Martin was born and raised in Hiawatha, Kansas. His father was a paperhanger and his mother was a housewife; he was one of 5 brothers. He had difficulty reading until he went to college, at the Kansas State Teacher's College in Emporia, Kansas. There he memorized poems that a teacher read aloud in class, and was then able to relate the words to what was on the page. Enthusiastic about helping other children learn to read by "[having] language inside of themselves," he went on to earn a doctorate in early childhood education from Northwestern University in 1961. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Force as a newspaper editor and wrote his first book, The Little Squeegy Bug, published in 1945, as William Ivan Martin, with illustrations by his brother Bernard Martin. Other books authored by Martin and Sampson continue to be published, including Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up (2011), Listen to Our World (2016), and Spunky Little Monkey (2017). Armadillo Antics came out in 2022.

Martin was also active as an educational speaker and with Sampson, conducted annual workshops for educators called Pathways to Literacy that eventually trained over 50,000 teachers at 30 sites throughout the US. He was one of the first children's book authors to promote his books by touring schools and bookstores. At these appearances he read aloud to the children, often with music and dancing. He believed in instilling interest in children and helping them remember new words through rhythm and repetition. who is best known as a Midwest wildlife painter and printmaker.