Margaret Hodges
Personal Information
Description
Sarah Margaret "Peggy" Hodges née Moore (July 26, 1911 – December 13, 2005) was an American writer of children's books, librarian, and storyteller. Sarah Margaret Moore was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Arthur Carlisle Moore and Annie Marie Moore. She enrolled at Tudor Hall, a college preparatory school for girls. A 1932 graduate of Vassar College, she arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Fletcher Hodges Jr. when in 1937 he became curator at the Stephen Foster Memorial. She trained as a librarian at Carnegie Institute of Technology. Beginning in 1958 with One Little Drum, she wrote more than 40 published books. She also wrote the book John F. Kennedy Voice of Hope. She was a professor of library science at the University of Pittsburgh, where she retired in 1976. Hodges died of heart disease December 13, 2005, at her home in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. She suffered from Parkinson's disease. She wrote her stories on a notepad or a typewriter. "I need good ideas, and they don't come out of machines", she once said.
Books
Dick Whittington and his cat
Retells the legend of the poor boy in medieval England who trades his beloved cat for a fortune in gold and jewels and eventually becomes Lord Mayor of London.
Merlin and the making of the king
A retelling of four Arthurian legends, "The Sword in the Stone," "Excalibur," "The Lady of the Lake," and "The Last Great Battle," which feature Merlin, King Arthur, and other familiar figures.
The Legend of Saint Christopher
Relates the story of Offero, whose service to Jesus brought him the name of Christopher the Christ-bearer and caused him to be called the patron saint of travelers.
The boy who drew cats
A young boy's obsession with drawing cats changes his life.
The wee Christmas cabin
A tinker's child who grows up helping everyone in her Irish village is rewarded in her old age with a cabin built by fairies on Christmas Eve.
Up the chimney
A retelling of an English folktale in which two sisters who go out to seek their fortune receive very different treatment.
The true tale of Johnny Appleseed
Relates the story of the man who traveled west planting apple seeds to make the country a better place to live.
Molly Limbo
When a miserly man buys a supposedly haunted cottage, he discovers that the resident ghost, a pirate's wife, has a sense of fair play.
Silent Night
When her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, Catherine Dornan and their two young sons accompanied him to New York, during the Christmas season, for a life-saving operation. Hoping to divert the boys from worry about their father, and to temper her own near despair, on Christmas Eve Catherine takes the boys to see Rockefeller Center's famous Christmas tree. When they stop to listen to a street musician, Brian, the younger boy, sees a woman take his mother's wallet, which holds a precious memento his grandmother has just given them, a St. Christopher medal that saved her husband's life in World War II, and which she and Brian believe will save his father's life now. Unable to get his mother's attention, Brian impulsively follows the woman who has taken the wallet into the city's subways, thereby beginning a journey that will threaten his life and change that of his mother and of the thief, as well.
Gulliver in Lilliput
On a voyage in the South Seas, an Englishman finds himself shipwrecked in Lilliput, a land of people only six inches high.
Hidden in sand
A boy's keen eyes and persistent nature save a caravan in need of water while crossing a desert.
Saint Patrick and the peddler
When a poor Irish peddler follows the instructions given to him by Saint Patrick in a dream, his life is greatly changed. Includes background on Saint Patrick and on the origin of the story.
Hero of Bremen
Retells the German legend in which a shoemaker who cannot walk helps the town of Bremen, aided by the spirit of the great hero Roland.
Of swords and sorcerers
Nine episodes in the Arthurian cycle, from the placing of the boy Arthur in Merlin's care to Arthur's departure for Avalon.
The golden deer
Buddha comes to the city of Benares in the form of a golden deer and persuades the King to stop killing all the deer in the area.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
An abridged version of the adventures of an eccentric country gentleman and his faithful companion who set out as knight and squire of old to right wrongs and punish evil.
St. Jerome and the lion
An illustrated retelling of the legend of Saint Jerome and the lion that he sheltered in his monastery.
Brother Francis and the friendly beasts
A young man rejects his wealthy background to lead a life of poverty and good works, always befriending animals.
Buried Moon
Who will rescue the Moon after she is buried in a dark pool by witches, goblins, and other evil creatures who have always resented her bright, shining light?
The kitchen knight
A retelling of the Arthurian legend of how Sir Gareth becomes a knight and rescues the lady imprisoned by the fearsome Red Knight of the Red Plain.