Remembering Bill Martin Jr.
By Maryann Manning

Students cozy up in a brightly-colored bathtub with some of their favorite Bill Martin Jr. books.

What would the world of children's literature be without Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Holt, 1992, reissue, ISBN: 0-805-01744-5) Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom, (Aladdin, 2000, ISBN: 0-689-83568-X) and so many other Bill Martin Jr. classics? Though he passed away at age 88 on August 11, 2004, he'll be remembered for capturing the hearts of children, teachers and parents with his loveable characters and memorable phrases.

Not content merely to write books in seclusion, Bill traveled the United States to meet kids and teachers. I often sat cross-legged in the audience at professional conferences with other teachers while Bill entertained us and taught us some of the most important lessons we ever learned about teaching reading.

Maybe one reason he related so well to teachers was because he had both early childhood degrees and experience as a classroom teacher and principal. He was one of us and knew our language. When he spoke about literature based reading instruction, we listened and rushed home to our own classrooms to attempt his suggestions.

History in the making
I witnessed the worldwide popularity of Bill's books when I journeyed to Russia to work in a school there. I asked the teachers if there was anything I could bring them from the U.S. They quickly replied that what they wanted was several copies of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? This canonical text illustrated by Eric Carle is still on bestseller lists and is a frequently recommended book for young children.

I knew that Eric Carle illustrated Brown Bear, but I was unaware that Bill had been looking for an illustrator in 1967. The story goes like this: Bill saw a magazine ad that he liked and inquired about the artist. Eric Carle responded to his inquiry and told Bill that he was interested in doing picture books. The rest is history. Carle went on from that first book to become an illustrator who has made our world a more beautiful place. His unique images are forever burned into our consciousness.

Bill Martin Jr. Remembrance Day
Why are Bill's books so popular? Perhaps part of the answer is that Bill wrote rhythmically, using repetition and combining songs, poetry and storytelling in charming simple stories that often included animals, always a favorite subject among children.

Because Bill's contribution to children's books was so great, consider having a Bill Martin Jr. Remembrance Day or week in your school. Invite other teachers in your school district to join you in remembering the seminal work he left for all of to use and enjoy. Younger students can spend the week celebrating his work by chanting, clapping, smiling, jumping and most of all, by enjoying Bill's beautiful use of language. Meanwhile, older students can enjoy remembering their childhood favorites.

Just the facts
Here are some facts about Bill Martin Jr. that students will enjoy.

Birthplace: Hiawatha, KS.

Name: Named William Ivan Martin Jr. after his father, a paperhanger, and his mother whose name was Iva. Funnily, because Bill never liked the name "Ivan," he would not admit to having a middle name. Since his father's name was William, everyone assumed he was a Jr.

Siblings: Four brothers. His brother Bernard illustrated his first ten books.

Early influences: He credited his fifth grade teacher Mrs. Davis with stoking his creative talent by reading novels to the class everyday and "[tuning] his ears to literate language and to the voice of the text."

Reading problems: Bill didn't learn to read well until college and when he began reading the poetry of Robert Frost and Walt Whitman.

Authorship: He wrote over 300 books.

Favorite books: He said his favorite book was the one he was holding at that moment, but identified The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (Warne, 2002, reissue, ISBN: 0-723-24770-6) as an all-time favorite.

Favorite things: Friendship, followed by reading, then writing.

First Book: The Little Squeegy Bug (Winslow Press, 2001, reissue, ISBN: 1-89-81790-2) was first published in 1945.

Celebrating a life
The following are ideas that educators can use to prepare a Bill Martin Jr. Remembrance Day.

• Remind your students that Bill kept a writer's notebook and the line "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" had been written there for three years before he wrote the now famous book.
• Visit www.billmartinjr.com to find many ideas to use with his books as well as a picture of Bill to print and display in the classroom. Visit www.readingrockets.org and read interviews with many authors and listen to an audio interview with Bill. Eric Carle's website, www.eric-carle.com has much information on Brown Bear and other books they collaborated on.

More study ideas
Here are some good activities to incorporate into your celebration of the work and life of Bill Martin Jr.

• Study his books and look for rhythmic patterns and common themes.
• Create a timeline with the copyright date and name of each book you read in class.
• Read his books in different ways. Try choral reading either in unison or by assigning parts.
• Echo reading, with the teacher or someone else reading aloud a line or passage and the audience echoing back the words, is an effective method as well. Or, simply ask pairs of students to read Bill's books aloud to each other.
• Devote a bulletin board in the classroom or hallway to statements written by students about their favorite Bill Martin Jr. book.
• Ask small groups of children to select a favorite book scene to pantomime.
• Read Knots on a Counting Rope (Holt, 1997, reissue, ISBN: 0-805-054790) and ask students to interview family members about their history using questions similar to the following: Where was I born? Who was there when I was born? Why was I given my name? Was I named after a relative? Then ask children to write their own birth story.
• Read I Pledge Allegiance (Candlewick, 2002, ISBN:0-763-61648-6) and discuss the meanings of the phrases. Ask your students to write examples of each phrase from their own lives.
• Go to the library for copies of Bill's early "Sounds of Language" series to read aloud to students. Do older students remember hearing these pieces when they were little?
• In writing workshops, share Bill's quotes, "I don't write books. I talk them," and "I talk to a melody." Ask students what these statements mean and if they are true in their own writing.

Perpetuating a legacy
The next time I am near Commerce, TX, I want to visit the Bill Martin Jr. Library where the drafts, manuscripts and memorabilia from his life and work are exhibited. I hope the drafts from my favorite book, Knots on a Counting Rope, are on display.

By spending a good amount of time on Bill's books and life with your students, you will be helping to perpetuate an incredible legacy that we don't want to ever forget – that of using poetry and song in the classroom and learning to enjoy and appreciate language when reading.

Maryann Manning is on the faculty of the School of Education, the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

January 2005, Vol.35, No.4