Margaret Read MacDonald

Margaret Read MacDonald was born in Seymour, Indiana,{{Cite web |title=Margaret Read MacDonald Papers |url=https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/6917 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306041622/https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/6917 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides}} growing up in a rural Southern Indiana community near the Muscatatuck River. She was the daughter of Murray Read and Mildred Amick Read. Her family was active in the North Vernon Methodist Church, and her mother would recite to the Women's Society of Christian Service and the Eastern Star.{{cite journal |last1=Roe |first1=Betty |last2=Roe |first2=Mike |date=2008 |title=Meet the author: Margaret Read Macdonald: Writing for the ear |url=http://tennesseereading.org/Publications_files/2008%20spring%20summer%20edition.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Tennessee Reading Teacher |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=35–39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116131416/http://tennesseereading.org/Publications_files/2008%20spring%20summer%20edition.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2018 |access-date=18 March 2017}} Her mother, raised as a farm girl near Scipio, Indiana, read James Whitcomb Riley's poetry at bedtime, instilling rhythms in Margaret's head.

MacDonald attended Indiana University Bloomington, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology{{cite web|title=Featured Author: An Interview with Margaret Read MacDonald|url=http://www.augusthouse.com/single-post/2016/08/05/Featured-Author-An-Interview-with-Margaret-Read-MacDonald|website=The August House Blog|date=August 5, 2016}} in 1962. She then attended the University of Washington, receiving her Master of Library Science in 1964,{{Cite web |title=Margaret Read MacDonald |url=https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/margaret-read-macdonald |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619192551/https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/margaret-read-macdonald |archive-date=19 June 2022 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=American Library Association Store}} and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, receiving her Master of Education in Early Childhood Education in 1969. She returned to Indiana University to receive her Ph.D. in folklore in 1979.{{Cite web |title=Doctoral dissertations awarded from 1968 to present |url=https://ils.indiana.edu/programs/phd-information-science/dissertation-list.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004220821/https://ils.indiana.edu/programs/phd-information-science/dissertation-list.html |archive-date=4 October 2022 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=Department of Information & Library Science |publisher=Indiana University Bloomington |language=en-US}} Her thesis became The Storyteller’s Sourcebook: A Title, Subject, and Motif-Index to Folktale Collections for Children (1982). It was listed as an American Library Association outstanding reference source in 1982.{{cite web|title=MacDonald, Margaret Read 1940-|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/macdonald-margaret-read-1940-0|website= Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series|publisher=Gale|date=2009}}

{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs9ITXrM9j8 “Look Back & See by Margaret Read MacDonald”] | video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RMIt2woVWk “Cockroach Party – Duet with Margaret Read MacDonald & Jeff Gere“] | video3= [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sic7nPNiuQ4 ”Not Our Problem by Margaret Read MacDonald”]}}

MacDonald combined experience from 35 years as a children's librarian (San Francisco Public; Oahu bookmobiles; Singapore American School; Mountain-Valley Library System; Montgomery County Maryland; King County Library System{{Cite web |title=Margaret Read MacDonald |url=https://www.augusthouse.com/margaret-read-macdonald |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201000405/https://www.augusthouse.com/margaret-read-macdonald |archive-date=1 December 2022 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=August House |language=en}}){{cn|date=August 2022}} with her degree in folklore (Ph.D. Indiana University Folklore Institute 1979) to create tellable folktale collections and picture books "so rhythmic and conversational even a first-time storyteller will be successful." Her folktale picture books, such as Fat Cat and Party Croc! are known for their rhythmic quality and easy readability. Kirkus Review notes the patterned text as contributing to MacDonald's trademark style and encouraging audience participation.{{cite journal |date=January 14, 2015 |title=Party Croc! A Folktale from Zimbabwe |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/margaret-read-macdonald/party-croc/ |url-status=live |journal=Kirkus Reviews |volume=LXXXIII |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816165255/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/margaret-read-macdonald/party-croc/ |archive-date=16 August 2022 |access-date=18 March 2017}}

{{blockquote|"These stories talk about issues that affect all of us. They tell us about how to be kind, how to get along with people, and they’re playful. In most cultures, children are part of the storytelling event. The tales appeal to both children and adults. Often livelier, fun stories are told early in the evening and later, after the children have fallen asleep, the adults can turn to more serious tales."{{cite web|title=Interview with Margaret Read MacDonald, Pt. 2|url=https://www.augusthouse.com/single-post/interview-with-margaret-read-macdonald-pt-2|website=The August House Blog|date=7 August 2016|url-status=live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220926020254/https://www.augusthouse.com/single-post/interview-with-margaret-read-macdonald-pt-2 | archive-date = 26 September 2022}} }}

In 1995-96 MacDonald was a Fulbright Scholar in Mahasarakham, Thailand, working with Wajuppa Tossa. The project encouraged students to learn and continue to use their local dialects, as storytellers, as well as preserve little-known tales by translating them into English. Stories were translated from the local languages into English, refined as tellable stories, and then translated back into the local language and checked for cultural gaffes. MacDonald and Wajuppa developed a co-telling style in which they followed each other line-for-line in two languages.{{cite web |title=Margaret Read MacDonald – Telling Across Language Barriers |url=http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/2007/12/06/margaret-read-macdonald/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707082627/https://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/2007/12/06/margaret-read-macdonald/ |archive-date=7 July 2022 |accessdate=18 March 2017 |website=The Art of Storytelling Show}}{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Mary Clare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mLLwb-4a3wC |title=The Arts, Education, and Social Change: Little Signs of Hope |last2=Speiser |first2=Vivien Marcow |publisher=P. Lang |year=2005 |isbn=9780820463025 |location=New York |pages=19–24 |language=en |chapter=Chapter Two: Engendering Cultural Pride through Storytelling - Margaret Read MacDonald and Wajuppa Tossa |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mLLwb-4a3wC&pg=PA19}}

MacDonald has taught courses in storytelling at the University of Washington and Lesley University.{{cite web |title=Margaret Read MacDonald |url=http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/margaret-read-macdonald/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319113910/http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/margaret-read-macdonald/ |archive-date=19 March 2017 |accessdate=19 March 2017 |website=Lesley University}} Since her retirement from librarianship in 2002 she has traveled extensively abroad teaching storytelling techniques and performing. She has recruited tellers to put their countries’ tales into print and edited folktale collections by tellers from Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.{{cite book|last1=Taibah|first1=Nadia Jameel|last2=MacDonald|first2=Margaret Read|title=Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula: Tales of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, and Yemen: Tales of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, and Yemen|date=November 10, 2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1591585299|page=113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpHcCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|accessdate=19 March 2017}}

As a folklorist, MacDonald has interviewed traditional tellers to produce Scipio Storytelling: Talk in a Southern Indiana Community (1996){{cite journal|last1=Hansen|first1=Gregory|last2=MacDonald|first2=Margaret Read|title=Scipio Storytelling: Talk in a Southern Indiana Community|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|year=1996|volume=110|issue=438|pages=454|doi=10.2307/541677|jstor=541677}} and Ten Traditional Tellers (2006), which features ten storytellers from around the world.{{cite web |title=Ten Traditional Tellers |url=http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/34awd9xt9780252030550.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709014113/https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p072970 |archive-date=9 July 2022 |accessdate=19 March 2017 |website=University of Illinois Press}}

Macdonald has been a member of the American Library Association, Association for Library Service to Children, Children's Literature Association, International Board on Books for Young People, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and Washington Library Association. Macdonald has been a member (1986–90) and president (1989–90) of the board of directors of the Washington State Folklife Council and a member (1988–91) and president (1989–90) of the board of directors of Youth Theater Northwest. She has been a member of the board of the National Storytelling Association (1992–95), and president of the Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society (1993–94).{{cn|date=August 2022}}

MacDonald received the National Storytelling Network's Leadership Award in 1998. She received the Talking Leaves Award from the National Storytelling Network in 2001{{cite web|title=Talking Leaves Award Recipients|url=http://www.storynet.org/oracle/talkingleaves.html|website=National Storytelling Network|accessdate=19 March 2017}} as "a major influence and force in the literary body of storytelling." MacDonald was chosen for the Outstanding Author and Storyteller Award, 2001-2002 by the Washington Organization for Reading Development, an affiliate of the International Literacy Association (ILA).

Margaret Read and her husband James Bruce MacDonald have two daughters, Julie Liana MacDonald Martin and Jennifer Skye MacDonald Whitman. Jen and her husband Nat Whitman also tell stories, such as The Whitman Story Sampler.{{cite web|title=The Whitman Story Sampler (2012)|url=http://powellswoodfestival.com/the-whitman-story-sampler/|website=The PowellsWood Garden Storytelling Festival|accessdate=19 March 2017}} Margaret Read MacDonald currently lives in Des Moines, Washington and spends time in the summer on Guemes Island, Washington where she holds a storyteller's retreat.{{cite web|title=Guemes Island Storytelling Retreat|url=http://www.margaretreadmacdonald.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Workshops.Guemes|website=Margaret Read Macdonald|accessdate=19 March 2017}}

• The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle (illus. Nancy Dunaway Fowlkes) (1995)
• Tuck-me-in Tales: Bedtime Stories from Around the World (illustrated by Yvonne LeBrun Davis) (1996)
• Slop! A Welsh Folktale (illustrated by Yvonne LeBrun Davis) (1997)
• The Girl Who Wore Too Much (illustrated by Yvonne LeBrun Davis) (1998)
• Pickin’ Peas (illustrated by Pat Cummings) (1998)
• The Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale (illustrated by Julie Paschkis) (2001)
• Mabela the Clever (illustrated by Tim Coffey) (2001)
• A Hen, a Chick, and a String Guitar (illustrated by Sophie Fatus) (2001)
• Conejito: A Folktale from Panama (illustrated by Geraldo Valério) (2006)
• Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Folktale from Palestine (illustrated by Alik Arzoumanian) (2006)
• Teeny Weeny Bop (illustrated by Diane Greenseid) (2006)
• The Squeaky Door (illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma) (2006)
• Old Woman and Her Pig (illustrated by John Kanzler) (2007)
• Little Rooster’s Diamond Button (illustrated by Will Terry) (2007)
• Go to Sleep Gecko: A Folktale from Bali (illustrated by Geraldo Valério) (2007)
• The Great, Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog (illustrated by Julie Paschkis) (2007){{cite web|title=Margaret Read MacDonald and my daughter|url=http://saintsandspinners.blogspot.com/2008/01/margaret-read-macdonald-and-my-daughter.html|website=Saints and spinners|date=January 15, 2008}}
• Bat’s Big Game (illustrated by Eugenia Nobati) (2008)
• Surf War (illustrated by Geraldo Valério) (2009)
• How Many Donkeys: An Arabic Counting Tale (with Nadia Jameel Taibah) (illustrated by Carol Liddiment) (2009)
• Too Many Fairies (illustrated by Susan Mitchell) (2009)
• Boy from the Dragon Palace (illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa) (2011)
• Give Up, Gecko: A Folktale from Uganda (illustrated by Deborah Melmon) (2013)
• Party Croc! A Folktale from Zimbabwe (illustrated by Derek Sullivan) ( 2015).

• When the Lights Go Out: 20 Scary Tales to Tell (1988)
• The Skit Book; 101 Skits from Kids (1990){{Cite journal |last=Mechling |first=Jay |date=1992 |title=Reviews - The Skit Book by Margaret Read MacDonald |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cfr/article/view/25266 |url-status=live |format=PDF |journal=Children's Folklore Review |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=21–22 |issn=0739-5558 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230306030704/https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cfr/article/view/25266/31082 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |access-date=5 March 2023}}
• Look Back and See: Twenty Lively Tales for Gentle Tellers (1991)
• Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About (1992)
• Tom Thumb (1993)
• Celebrate the World: Twenty Multicultural Folktales (1994)
• Ghost Stories from the Pacific Northwest (1995)
• Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk About (1999)
• The Round Book: Rounds Kids Love to Sing (with Winifred Jaeger, illus. by Yvonne LeBrun Davis) (1999)
• Shake-it-up Tales: Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum and Act Out (2000){{Cite journal |last1=De Vos |first1=Gail |last2=Harris |first2=Merle |date=2003 |title=Review Roundup 2003 |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cfr/article/view/25126 |url-status=live |format=PDF |journal=Children's Folklore Review |language=en |volume=26 |pages=96 |issn=0739-5558 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230306030201/https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cfr/article/view/25126/30998 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |access-date=5 March 2023}}
• Three Minute Tales (2005){{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Kristian|title=For National Storytelling Week, Here Are 15 Books You Can Use To Start Your Storytelling Career|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/139252-for-national-storytelling-week-here-are-15-books-you-can-use-to-start-your-storytelling-career|accessdate=17 March 2017|work=Bustle|date=February 3, 2016}}
• Five Minute Tales (2007)
• The Singing Top: Tales from Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei (2009)

• Thai Tales by Supaporn Vathanaprida. Editor Margaret Read MacDonald (1994)
• Indonesian Folktales by Murti Bunanta. Editor Margaret Read MacDonald (2003)
• From the Winds of Manguito by Elvia Pérez. Translator Paula Martín. Editor Margaret Read MacDonald (2004).
• Brazilian Folktales by Livia de Almeida. Editor Margaret Read MacDonald (2005).
• Lao Folktales by Wajuppa Tossa and Kongdeaune Nettavong. Editor Margaret Read MacDonald (2009)
• The Singing Top: Tales from Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei (2009)
• Pachamama Tales: Folklore from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Retold and translated by Paula Martín. Edited by Margaret Read MacDonald, (2014)
• Storyteller’s Sampler: Tales from Tellers Around the World. Edited by Margaret Read MacDonald. (2015)
• Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula: Tales of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, and Oman by Nadia Jameel Taibah and Margaret Read MacDonald. (2015)

• Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the Beginning Storyteller (1986, 2005)
• Booksharing: 101 Programs to Use with Preschoolers (1988)
• The Storyteller’s Start-up Book (1993)
• Bookplay: 101 Creative Themes to Share with Young Children (1995)
• A Parent’s Guide to Storytelling: How to Make Up New Stories and Retell Old Favorites (1995, 2001)
• Tell the World: Telling Across Language Barriers (2007)
• Teaching with Story: Classroom Connections to Storytelling (co-authored with Jennifer MacDonald Whitman and Nathaniel Forrest Whitman) (2013)

• The Storyteller’s Sourcebook: A Subject, Title, and Motif-Index to Folklore Collections for Children (1982)
• The Folklore of World Holidays (1991)
• Traditional Storytelling Today: An International Sourcebook (1999)
• The Storyteller’s Sourcebook : A Subject, Title, and Motif-Index to Folklore Collections for Children, 1983-1999 (supplement, co-authored with Brian Sturm) (2001)

• Scipio Storytelling: Talk in a Southern Indiana Community (1996)
• Ten Traditional Tellers (2006)

• Scipio, Indiana: Threads from the Past (1988)

• Tuck-me-in Tales: Bedtime Stories from Around the World (with Richard Scholtz) CD (1997)
• Cockroach Party! (with Richard Scholtz) CD (1999, 2005)
• Fat Cat and Friends. (with Richard Scholtz) CD'' (2002)
• Mabela the Clever. DVD (2006)
• Little Rooster's Diamond Button. DVD. (2008)

• The Storyteller's Sourcebook ALA RTSD Best Reference 1982
• Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About (August House,1992) Best books for young adults, 1992; Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies; Storytelling World, 1995{{cite web|title=1995 Storytelling World Award Winners and Honor Titles|url=http://storytellingworld.com/Awards/1995win.htm|website=Storytelling World|accessdate=18 March 2017}}
• Pickin’ Peas. Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, 1998; Tennessee Volunteer Award, 2000
• The Fat Cat Parent’s Choice Silver Award 2001
• Mabela the Clever Parent’s Choice Gold Award, 2001; Aesop Accolade
• The Storyteller's Sourcebook, 1983-1999, Anne Izard Award, 2002; Storytelling World Award
• Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! ALA Notable 2006{{cite web|title=Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale|url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/tunjur-tunjur-tunjur-palestinian-folktale|website=American Library Association|accessdate=18 March 2017}}
• Mabela the Clever. DVD. ALSC Notable Children’s Film, 2006{{cite web|title=2007 Notable Children's Videos|url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncv/ncvpastlists/2007ncvlist|website=ALSC|accessdate=18 March 2017}}{{cite web|title=Mabela the Clever|url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/mabela-clever|website=American Library Association|date=2007}}
• Great, Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog. Storytelling World Award, 2007; NAPPA Gold 2007; Foreword Book of the Year Honor, 2007{{cite web|title=The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog A Folktale from Great Britain|url=https://awards.forewordreviews.com/books/the-great-smelly-slobbery-small-tooth-dog/|website=2007 Foreword INDIES Winner Picture Books (Children's)|accessdate=19 March 2017}}
• Go to Sleep Gecko. Anne Izard Award, 2007; Flicker Tale Book Award, 2008; KIND Children’s Honor, 2007; Finalist Foreword Magazine Book of the Year, 2006; Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2007
• How Many Donkeys. Sharjah World Award, 2009{{cite news|last1=Ermelino|first1=Louisa|title=Sharjah International Book Fair Opens in Grand Style|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/trade-shows/article/44977-sharjah-international-book-fair-opens-in-grand-style.html|accessdate=19 March 2017|work=Publishers Weekly|date=Oct 27, 2010}}{{cite news|last1=Tagholm|first1=Roger|title=Sharjah's Int'l Book Fair Makes a Big Push for UK and US Publishers In Digital|url=http://publishingperspectives.com/2010/10/sharjahs-intl-book-fair-makes-a-big-push-for-uk-and-us-publishers/|accessdate=19 March 2017|work=Publishing Perspectives|date=October 28, 2010}}
• Boy from the Dragon Palace. Anne Izard Award, 2013;{{cite web |last1=Floyd |first1=Steve |date=28 May 2015 |title=Margaret Read MacDonald Wins 2015 Anne Izard Award |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/margaret_read_macdonald_wins_2015_anne_izard_award/prweb12706562.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319112703/https://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/05/prweb12706562.htm |archive-date=19 March 2017 |access-date=18 March 2017 |website=PRWeb}} Bank Street Best Children’s Books, 2012; Storytelling World Award 2012
• Teaching with Story: Classroom Connection to Storytelling. Co-authors Jennifer Whitman and Nathaniel Forrest Whitman. Anne Izard Award, 2015, Storytelling World Award, 2014

{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Children's literature}}

• [http://www.margaretreadmacdonald.com Margaret Read MacDonald]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065036/http://ravenstonepress.com/macdonald.html Raven Stone Press]
• [http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/6917 Margaret Read MacDonald Papers], Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota Libraries

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Category:1940 births

Category:Living people

Category:American folklorists

Category:American women folklorists

Category:American children's writers

Category:American women children's writers

Category:People from Seymour, Indiana

Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni

Category:University of Washington Information School alumni

Category:University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni

Category:People from Des Moines, Washington