Margaret Read MacDonald

Margaret Read MacDonald (born January 21, 1940) is an American storyteller, folklorist, and award-winning children's book author. She has published more than 65 books, of stories and about storytelling, which have been translated into many languages. She has performed internationally as a storyteller, is considered a "master storyteller", and has been dubbed a "grand dame of storytelling". She focuses on creating "tellable" which enable readers to share folktales with children easily.

Early life Margaret Read MacDonald was born in Seymour, Indiana, growing up in a rural Southern Indiana community near the Muscatatuck River. She was the daughter of Murray Read and Mildred Amick Read. Her mother, raised as a farm girl near Scipio, Indiana, in 1962. She then attended the University of Washington, receiving her Master of Library Science in 1964, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, receiving her Master of Education in Early Childhood Education in 1969. Her thesis became The Storyteller’s Sourcebook: A Title, Subject, and Motif-Index to Folktale Collections for Children (1982).

Career

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 ) with her degree in folklore (Ph.D. Indiana University Folklore Institute 1979)

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.

MacDonald has taught courses in storytelling at the University of Washington Since her retirement from librarianship in 2002 she has traveled extensively abroad teaching storytelling techniques and performing.

As a folklorist, MacDonald has interviewed traditional tellers to produce Scipio Storytelling: Talk in a Southern Indiana Community (1996) and Ten Traditional Tellers (2006), which features ten storytellers from around the world.

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 (1992–95, 2023–) and president (1998) of the National Storytelling Association, and president of the Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society (1993–94). Margaret Read MacDonald currently lives in Des Moines, Washington

Works Picture books The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle (illus. Nancy Dunaway Fowlkes) (1995) 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).

Folklore collections When the Lights Go Out: 20 Scary Tales to Tell (1988) The Skit Book; 101 Skits from Kids (1990) Look Back and See: Twenty Lively Tales for Gentle Tellers (1991) Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About (1992)

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) Three Minute Tales (2005) Five Minute Tales (2007) The Singing Top: Tales from Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei (2009)

Edited folklore collections 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)

Storytelling handbooks 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) Pickin’ Peas. Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, 1998; Tennessee Volunteer Award, 2000 Mabela the Clever. DVD. ALSC Notable Children's Film, 2006 Great, Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog. Storytelling World Award, 2007; NAPPA Gold 2007; Foreword Book of the Year Honor, 2007 Go to Sleep Gecko. Anne Izard Award, 2007; Boy from the Dragon Palace. Anne Izard Award, 2013; 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