Margaret Hodges (1911–2005) Biography

(Margaret Moore Hodges)

Personal

Born 1911, in Indianapolis, IN; died December 13, 2005, in Verona, PA; Education: Vassar College, A.B. (with honors), 1932; Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University), M.L.S., 1958. Politics: Republican. Religion: Episcopalian. Hobbies and other interests: Traveling, reading, folklore, gardening.

Career

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, special assistant and children's librarian, 1953–64; Pittsburgh Public Schools, story specialist in compensatory education department, 1964–68; University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, lecturer, 1964–68, assistant professor, 1968–72, associate professor, 1972–75, professor 1975–77, professor emeritus, beginning 1978. Storyteller on program Tell Me a Story, WQED-TV, 1965–76.

Member

Zonta International, American Library Association (member of Newbery-Caldecott committee, 1960), Pennsylvania Library Association, Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Bibliophiles, Pittsburgh Vassar Club.

Honors Awards

Carnegie Library staff scholarship, 1956–58; American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book citation, New York Times Ten Best Picture Books of the Year citation, both 1964, and Silver Medal, Biennal (Brazil), 1965, all for The Wave; Lady Queen Anne selected a Best Book for Young Adults by an Indiana Author, 1970; The Making of Joshua Cobb selected a New York Times Outstanding Juvenile Book, 1971; ALA Notable Book citation, 1972, for The Fire Bringer; John G. Bowman Memorial grant, 1974; named Distinguished Alumna, Carnegie Library School and Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1976; Outstanding Pennsylvania Children's Author award, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, 1977; Daughter of Mark Twain Award, 1980; New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award, 1984, Carolyn W. Field Award for best children's book by a Pennsylvania author, Horn Book Honor Book designation, and Caldecott Award for illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman, all 1985, all for Saint George and the Dragon; Margaret Hodges Day citation from University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Science, 1985; Keystone State Reading Award, 1985; Margaret Hodges scholarship established, 1989; ALA Best Books for Young Adults citation, 1989, for Making a Difference; Notable Children's Trade Book citation, National Council for Social Studies/Children's Book Council (CBC), 1989, for The Arrow and the Lamp; Parents' Choice Honor for Story Books, and CBC award, both 1990, both for Buried Moon; ALA Notable Book designation, 1991, for St. Jerome and the Lion; Park Tudor (Tudor Hall) Distinguished Alumna Award, 1992; Parents' Choice Recommendation, 1999, for Joan of Arc.

Writings

FICTION

One Little Drum, illustrated by Paul Galdone, Follett, 1958.

What's for Lunch, Charley?, illustrated by Aliki, Dial (New York, NY), 1961.

A Club against Keats, illustrated by Rick Schreiter, Dial (New York, NY), 1962.

The Secret in the Woods, illustrated by Judith Brown, Dial (New York, NY), 1963.

The Hatching of Joshua Cobb, illustrated by W.T. Mars, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1968.

Sing Out, Charley!, illustrated by Velma Ilsley, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1968.

The Making of Joshua Cobb, illustrated by W.T. Mars, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1971.

The Freewheeling of Joshua Cobb, illustrated by Pamela Johnson, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1974.

The High Riders, Scribner (New York, NY), 1980.

The Avenger, Scribner (New York, NY), 1982.

NONFICTION

Lady Queen Anne: A Biography of Queen Anne of England, illustrated with photographs, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1968.

Hopkins of the Mayflower: Portrait of a Dissenter, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1972.

Knight Prisoner: The Tale of Sir Thomas Malory and His King Arthur, decorations by Don Bolognese and Elaine Raphael, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1976.

Making a Difference: The Story of an American Family, illustrated with photographs, Scribner (New York, NY), 1989.

Silent Night: The Song and Its Story, illustrated by Tim Ladwig, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 1997.

The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1997.

Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid, illustrated by Robert Rayevsky, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.

RETELLINGS

The Wave (adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's Gleanings in Buddha Fields), illustrated by Blair Lent, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1964.

The Gorgon's Head: A Myth from the Isles of Greece, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1972.

The Fire Bringer: A Paiute Indian Legend, illustrated by Peter Parnall, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1972.

Persephone and the Springtime: A Greek Myth, illustrated by Arvis Stewart, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1973.

The Other World: Myths of the Celts, illustrated by Eros Keith, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1973.

Baldur and the Mistletoe: A Myth of the Vikings, illustrated by Gerry Hoover, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1974.

The Little Humpbacked Horse: A Russian Tale (adapted from a translation by Gina Kovarsky of a poem by Peter Pavlovich Yershov), illustrated by Chris Conover, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1980.

Saint George and the Dragon: A Golden Legend (adapted from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen), illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1984.

If You Had a Horse: Steeds of Myth and Legend, illustrated by D. Benjamin Van Steenburgh, Scribner (New York, NY), 1984.

The Voice of the Great Bell (adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's Some Chinese Ghosts), illustrated by Ed Young, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

The Arrow and the Lamp: The Story of Psyche, illustrated by Donna Diamond, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

Buried Moon, illustrated by Jamichael Henterly, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1990.

The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.

St. Jerome and the Lion, illustrated by Barry Moser, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Hauntings: Ghosts and Ghouls from around the World, illustrated by David Wenzel, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1991.

Brother Francis and the Friendly Beasts, illustrated by Ted Lewin, Scribner (New York, NY), 1991.

The Golden Deer, illustrated by Daniel San Souci, Scribner (New York, NY), 1992.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, illustrated by Stephen Marchesi, Scribner (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Margery Evernden) Of Swords and Sorcerers: The Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights, illustrated by David Frampton, Scribner (New York, NY), 1992.

Saint Patrick and the Peddler, illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson, Orchard (New York, NY), 1993.

The Hero of Bremen, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.

Hidden in Sand, illustrated by Paul Birling, Scribner (New York, NY), 1994.

Gulliver in Lilliput, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1995.

Comus (adapted from John Milton's A Masque at Ludlow Castle), illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.

Molly Limbo, illustrated by Elizabeth J. Miles, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1996.

Up the Chimney, illustrated by Amanda Harvey, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

The Boy Who Drew Cats (adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's Japanese Fairy Tales), illustrated by Aki Sogabe, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2002.

The Legend of Saint Christopher: From the Golden Legend Englished by William Caxton, 1483, illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002.

Merlin and the Making of the King (based on Thomas Malory's Le morte d'Arthur), illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

The Wee Christmas Cabin (adapted from Ruth Sawyer's The Long Christmas), illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.

Moses, illustrated by Barry Moser, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2006.

Dick Whittington and His Cat, illustrated by Mélisand Potter, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2006.

EDITOR

Kathleen Monypenny, The Young Traveler in Australia, Dutton (New York, NY), 1954.

H.M. Harrop, The Young Traveler in New Zealand, Dutton (New York, NY), 1954.

Lucile Iremonger, The Young Traveler in the West Indies, Dutton (New York, NY), 1955.

Geoffrey Trease, The Young Traveler in Greece, Dutton (New York, NY), 1956.

(With others) Stories to Tell to Children, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), 1960.

Tell It Again: Great Tales from around the World, illustrated by Joan Berg, Dial (New York, NY), 1963.

Constellation: A Shakespeare Anthology, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1968.

(With Susan Steinfirst) Elva S. Smith, The History of Children's Literature: A Syllabus with Selected Bibliographies, second edition, American Library Association, 1980.

OTHER

Also author of radio scripts; contributor to journals.

Collections of Hodges's works are housed in the Kerlan Collection, University of Minnesota; de Grummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi; and Elizabeth Nesbitt Room, University of Pittsburgh.

Sidelights

Beginning her working life as a children's librarian, Margaret Hodges ultimately established a distinguished career in children's books that lasted over half a century. Her first book, One Little Drum, was published in 1958, when Hodges was forty-seven years old; she went on to author over fifty other books for young readers prior to her death in 2005. Producing stand-alone fiction based on the antics of her own three boys as well as biographies, Hodges was best known for her retellings of myths and folk tales presented in a picture-book format. Her award-winning adaptations include Saint George and the Dragon: A Golden Legend, The Arrow and the Lamp: The Story of Psyche, St. Jerome and the Lion, and The Hero of Bremen. Throughout her career, Hodges viewed herself not as a creator, "but rather as a sort of midwife, simply bringing out life that already existed in itself," as she once remarked in an essay for the Something about the Author Autobiography Series (SAAS). Praising one of the author's final works, a story about fifteenth-century Japanese artist Sesshu Toyo titled The Boy Who Drew Cats, School Library Journal contributor Margaret A. Chang cited Hodges for her "direct, clear adaptation" of a story first penned by Lafcadio Hearn, deeming the book a "shivery pageturner celebrating the power of art."

Hodges' mother died six months after the author's birth, leaving her father to bring an older cousin, Margaret Based on a story by Lafcadio Hearn, Hodges' The Boy Who Drew Cats introduces a young artist whose obsession with cats is powerful enough to change his life. (Illustration by Ari Sogabe.)
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Carlisle, into the household to take care of the family, which also included a brother and Hodges' paternal grandfather. Hodges heard "superb storytelling" at Sunday school, and both her cousin Margaret and her father provided her with many books. Robert Louis Stevenson's poems, Beatrix Potter's Tale of Peter Rabbit, and George Macdonald's The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie, were early loves, followed by books by Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Dickens. Long poems such as Kipling's "The Ballad of East and West" and Browning's "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," once memorized, would become useful for Hodges in her later career as a storyteller.

Hodges began writing at an early age, and her first work, "Miss Matty's Library," was published in the magazine for Indianapolis's Public School Number 60. She also submitted a poem to St. Nicholas, a children's magazine that encouraged contributions from its readers and awarded silver and gold badges. Later, at Vassar College, Hodges majored in English, and received training in the Stanislavsky method of acting—another useful tool for a budding storyteller.

After graduating from Vassar, Hodges married Fletcher Hodges, Jr., in 1932 and moved with her family to Pittsburgh in 1937. While raising her three sons, she penned scripts for a radio program called The Children's Bookshelf. In 1953, she became a storyteller for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Boys and Girls Department, her sessions broadcast as the radio program Let's Tell a Story—this later became the television program Tell Me a Story. Working in the Boys and Girls Room inspired Hodges' first book: One Little Drum is based on the real-life adventures of her energetic sons, as were several of the books that followed, including a trilogy focusing on a young boy named Joshua Cobb. The Hatching of Joshua Cobb follows the adventures of Hodges' ten-year-old protagonist as he spends time away from home for the first time at summer camp. The Making of Joshua Cobb follows Joshua to boarding school, while The Freewheeling of Joshua Cobb takes Josh on a summer vacation bike trip with a group that includes his former camp counselor, Dusty, and a girl named Cassandra who initially proves difficult to like. A reviewer in Horn Book noted the "fresh background" of the final volume in the "Joshua Cobb" trilogy, and praised Hodges for portraying the "personality changes" of her characters. In the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, a writer commented that "the writing style has vitality, the characters individuality."

With her own children grown, Hodges moved into biography and retellings, producing such life histories as Knight Prisoner: The Tale of Sir Thomas Malory and His King Arthur and Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid, as well as folk-tale-based The Hero of Bremen and Up the Chimney. In Knight Prisoner she focuses on the widely known fifteenth-century English translator of Le morte d'Arthur, the legend of King Arthur. While there is little information actually available about Thomas Malory, Hodges "makes the most of the ascertainable facts and speculations," noted a reviewer in Horn Book. In the book Malory recalls episodes of his life and his experiences with some of the most famous people of his time, including Joan of Arc, King Henry V, and King Edward IV. A reviewer for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books remarked that while the multitude of historical and literary details might overwhelm some readers, Knight Prisoner "has both biographical and historical interest." Ruth M. McConnell concluded in School Library Journal that Hodges produces "a most readable political and social history."

In Joan of Arc Hodges tells the story of the French peasant girl who, raised on stories of the Catholic saints, witnessed a vision of St. Michael the Archangel at age thirteen and was told she would save France. In a Booklist review, Ilene Cooper noted that "Hodges tells Joan's story with simplicity, distilling the myriad events of bravery and betrayal down to their essence." Cooper further commented that the book's artwork gives the whole a feel of a "medieval work," but one with "lots of child appeal."

Works of literature also were retold for younger readers, among them the Don Quixote story, a well-known Elizabethan poem, and the Arthurian legend. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza "capture[s] famous incidents from [Miguel] Cervantes' novel," explained to Betsy Hearne writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Hearne went on to comment on the "pathetic-to-bitter range of humor" in the original which Hodges's "adaptation has captured so well."

Drawing on Malory's Le morte d'Arthur, The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur, Of Swords and Sorcerers: The Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights, and Merlin and the Making of the King retell stories of the knights of Arthur's round table. With compelling art by illustrators Hyman and David Frampton, the books bring to life such well-known characters as Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, the sword Excalibur, Merlin the magician, and the treacherous Morgan Le Fay, whose stories intersect in the magical land of Camelot. Of Swords and Sorcerers was described by a writer for Publishers Weekly as a "carefully considered" retelling of the Arthurian legend divide into nine tales that "sparkle with the rich language of professional story-tellers." In Kirkus Reviews a writer noted of the three stories included in Merlin and the Making of the King that Hodges' "language is simple and lucid enough for young children without diluting the power of the telling." In Booklist Carolyn Phelan praised Hyman's "dramatic" medieval-styled illustrations and noted that the book "gives meaning and context to the … tales of knightly deeds."

Awarded a Caldecott award for its illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman, Saint George and the Dragon is based on the first book of Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queen. In the story, Saint George rescues a maiden and slays a dragon to save the young woman's family; eventually the hero and his love wed and live The life of the peasant girl destined to lead France to war against England is brought to life in Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid. (Illustration by Robert Rayevsky.)In Merlin and the Making of the King Hodges brings to life the legend of King Arthur in three stories of Camelot lushly illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.happily ever after. In the main portion of Hodges' retelling, which follows George's three-day battle with the dragon, the serpent "virtually bursts off the page," proclaimed Rosalie Byard in a review for the New York Times Book Review, adding that Hodges "offers a faithful translation of Spenser's detailed account" of the battle. A reviewer for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called the adaptation "capable," high-lighting the author's judicious use of Spenser's complex and archaic language. School Library Journal contributor Janice M. Del Negro noted that the action is "fast-paced and immediate," adding that Hodges transforms Spenser's classic poem into "a coherent, palatable story suitable for a wide range of ages."

Further literary retellings include Gulliver in Lilliput, an adaptation of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Comus, from English writer John Milton's long poem A Masque at Ludlow Castle. Reviewing Hodges' adaptation of the Swift satire, Horn Book contributor Ann A. Flowers praised the book as a "masterful retelling" that "emphasizes the adventures of Gulliver which are most appealing to children." Booklist contributor Del Negro felt that Hodges retells Milton's tale of good versus evil in "accessible, beautiful language."

Hodges served up folktales and tall tales from around the world for her youngest fans in books such as The Hero of Bremen, The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed, and Up the Chimney. The medieval German city of Bremen is the scene for The Hero of Bremen, in which a shoemaker who is unable to walk helps out his hometown with the aid of the hero, Roland. "Hodges quickens her retelling with the assurance of a master story-teller," remarked Kate McClelland in a School Library Journal review of the book. In The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed Hodges relates a "well-shaped, anecdotal account of the legendary Johnny Chapman," according to Margaret A. Bush, describing the book in School Library Journal. Chapman traveled into America's unsettled west, planting apple seeds along the way in an effort to make the region a more hospitable place for new settlers. "A bit of tongue-in-cheek and a suggestion of tall tale spark the felicitous blend of biography and folklore," Bush further noted of the book. With Up the Chimney, a retelling of an English folktale about two sisters who seek their fortune and receive very different fates, Booklist reviewer Cooper concluded that Hodges presents youngsters with a "pleasant version of the Jacobs' 'The Old Witch.'"

In The Arrow and the Lamp: The Story of Psyche Hodges returns to the rich world of myth and legend, this time retelling the ancient Greek myth of Psyche, a mortal whose love for a god changes her existence. A critic for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called Hodges' work "a haunting myth well adapted by an experienced storyteller." School Library Journal contributor Connie C. Rockman judged The Arrow and the Lamp to be a "smooth, straightforward retelling."

The stories of the Catholic saints are the focus of several books by Hodges. St. Jerome and the Lion recounts the story of how Saint Jerome pulled a thorn from a lion's paw and formed a strong bond with the ferocious creature as a result, while in The Legend of Saint Christopher: From the Golden Legend Englished by William Caxton, 1483 she relates the story of Offero, a man whose kindness to Jesus was repaid when he became the patron saint of travelers. Shirley Wilton, writing in School Library Journal, labeled St. Jerome and the Lion a "moral tale" and a "gentle story," while a reviewer for Publishers Weekly called the book a "sensitive adaptation" with "language and rhythms sensitively attuned to contemporary readers." Noting that "Hodges does a fine job of adapting and retelling" in The Legend of Saint Christopher, School Library Journal critic Jane G. Connor added that the writing is "fluid and has the cadence and rhythm of an experienced storyteller."

The story of Saint Francis of Assisi appears in Brother Francis and the Friendly Beasts, which a reviewer for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called a "graceful and smooth" retelling. Saint Patrick and the Peddler, an adaptation from Irish sources, deals with yet another saint, who appears in the dreams of a peddler during the Irish potato famine and encourages the man to go to Dublin. There the peddler meets another man who has had the same dream, and this meeting leads to the discovery of buried gold. "Ever the story-teller," Judith Gloyer wrote in a School Library Journal review, "Hodges includes a two-page condensation of St. Patrick's life, as well as notes on how her version of the story came about."

In Hauntings: Ghosts and Ghouls from around the World, Hodges retells sixteen ghost stories drawn from cultures the world over, including Europe, Asia, America, and India. The tales are "more mysterious than they are scary," noted Maeve Visser Knoth in Horn Book, calling Hauntings "one fresh, readable volume." "Hodges's polished retellings retain the flavor of the originals," declared Margaret A. Chang in School Library Journal, while the "meaty retellings" also won praise from Denia Hester in her Booklist review. Another "spooky" tale, according to Del Negro in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Hodges' Molly Limbo is an adaptation of a ghostly folktale. Molly, a pirate's wife, haunts Mr. Means's house and also lends a helping hand to the harried housekeeper. Dubbing the book "an entertaining tale," Horn Book contributor Mary M. Burns added that Molly Limbo "reflects the touch of a true storyteller with its lilting phrases and narrative pace."

"The art of storytelling thrilled me because I saw it as the best way to lead children to good literature, to leap the boundaries between literacy and illiteracy, and to bring marvelous old tales to listeners of all ages," Hodges once explained in her SAAS essay. With the timelessness of a good folktale, her retellings of classic legends and myths from around the world ensure her a place on the children's literature bookshelf and also ensure that those legends, myths, and other works resonate with new generations of young readers.