Sarah Margaret 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 Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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 Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, she arrived in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

with her husband Fletcher Hodges Jr. when in 1937 he became curator at the

Stephen Foster Memorial The Stephen Collins Foster Memorial is a performing arts center and museum which houses the Stephen Foster Archives at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is dedicated to the life and works of American songwriter Ste ...

. She trained as a librarian at

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, now

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, under Elizabeth Nesbitt, and she volunteered as a storyteller at the

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carn ...

. 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''. In 1953, she was hired as the storyteller for a radio show called '' Let's Tell A Story''. It became the storytelling segment, "Tell Me a Story", for Fred Rogers' children's television show at WQED, which ran from the mid-1960s to 1976 (the first run of '' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''). Illustrator

Trina Schart Hyman Trina Schart Hyman (April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustrat ...

won the annual Caldecott Medal for the 1985 picture book ''

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...

'' written by Hodges. Two more of her well-known works are '' What's for Lunch, Charley?'', and '' Merlin and the Making of the King''. She was a professor of library science at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, 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 Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. She wrote her stories on a

notepad A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often Ruled paper, ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, diary, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbook ...

or a

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

. "I need good ideas, and they don't come out of machines", she once said.

Awards

* Caldecott Medal, 1985, ''

Bibliography

* ''

'' (1984) (Illustrated by

) * ''The Kitchen Knight: A Tale from King Arthur'' (1990) (Illustrated by

) * ''

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...

'' (1996) (Illustrated by

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Margaret 1911 births 2005 deaths Writers from Indianapolis American children's writers Vassar College alumni Writers from Pittsburgh People with Parkinson's disease