Margaret Hillert (January 22, 1920 – October 11, 2014) was an American author, poet and educator. Hillert, a lifelong resident of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, was known for her

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, having written over eighty books for beginning readers. She began writing poetry at a young age and published her first verses in 1961. Hillert was born in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

in 1920. She was best known for her ''

Dear Dragon Margaret Hillert (January 22, 1920 – October 11, 2014) was an American author, poet and educator. Hillert, a lifelong resident of the state of Michigan, was known for her children's literature, having written over eighty books for beginning re ...

'' series, which pairs tales of a young boy and his pet dragon with instructional notes, word lists, and activities to promote reading skills. By using limited vocabulary and repeating words, her books are aimed at helping beginning readers gain skills and confidence. Hillert's work has been illustrated by Ed Young, Nan Brooks,

Kelly Oechsli Kelly Oechsli (23 February 1918 – 18 October 1999) was an American illustrator (and occasionally author) of children's books. He illustrated Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock books, as well as children's encyclopediae such as the young children's e ...

Kinuko Y. Craft Kinuko Yamabe Craft (born January 3, 1940) is a Japanese-born American painter, illustrator and fantasy artist. Biography Kinuko Yamabe Craft was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan on January 3, 1940. She graduated with a Bachelor of ...

, and Dick Martin. Hillert received a

nursing degree The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN, BScN) also known in some countries as a Bachelor of Nursing (BN) or Bachelor of Science (BS) with a Major in Nursing is an academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by an accredited ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and a

teaching degree Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their ...

from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. She taught

First Grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by r ...

at Whittier Elementary in the Royal Oak Public School District for 34 years. She died on October 11, 2014 at the age of 94.Margaret Hillert Obituary
/ref>

Awards

* 1991 Annual Award of the Children's Reading Round Table of Chicago42nd Annual Writer's Conference booklet
(PDF) Presented by Detroit Working Writers and Schoolcraft College in conjunction with ''The MacGuffin'', Schoolcraft College’s national literary magazine * 1993 The Women's National Book Association Michigan Bookwoman of the Year * 1997 The Women of Wayne State “Headliner” * David W Longe Prize

Bibliography

* '' Come Play with Me'' (1975) (Illustrated by

) * ''

What Is It? ''What Is It?'' is a 2005 American surrealist film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Crispin Glover and starring Glover, Fairuza Balk, and Steven C. Stewart. Background ''What Is It?'' is the first entry in a planned trilogy directe ...

'' (1977) (Illustrated by

) * ''

The Cookie House ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1978) (Illustrated by

) * ''

The Snow Baby ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1969) (Illustrated by

Liz Dauber Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa (given name), Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and ...

)

References

External links

The Margaret Hillert Papers
in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillert, Margaret American children's writers Writers from Michigan 1920 births 2014 deaths University of Michigan School of Nursing alumni People from Saginaw, Michigan Wayne State University alumni