Margaret H. Lippert

In 2007, Head, Body, Legs was chosen as the "We Share a Story" book of the year, to be read in 23 countries on 6 continents. After hearing the story, children in each country decorated and cut out body part pieces that will be brought together to make paper people with parts from different countries and sent back to the children’s schools. Lippert traveled to Australia, Denmark, Norway and England as part of the program.

Lippert's awards include: The Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award for Outstanding Writing in Picture Books (Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile, 2004); The Chapman Award for Best Classroom Read-Alouds (Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile, 2003); American Library Association Notable Children's Book (Head, Body, Legs, 2003); Aesop Accolade Award—American Folklore Society (Head, Body, Legs, 2002; Why Leopard Has Spots, 1999); Best Book for Older Readers—African Studies Association (Why Leopard Has Spots, 1999).

Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia, Fulcrum, 1998 (co-authored by Won-Ldy Paye and illustrated by Ashley Bryan)

Teacher’s Read-Aloud Anthologies, Volumes K-12, Macmillan/Mc-Graw Hill, 1993

Much of Lippert’s body of work draws from the storytelling and folklore traditions of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. After moving from New York to the Seattle area in 1990, she began a collaboration with Won-Ldy Paye, a Liberian storyteller from the Dan tribe tradition. Her most recent books grew out of this partnership, and are co-authored by Paye.

Lippert is the author of 22 books, including 9 anthologies and 13 books for children and young adults. Her first book was published in 1988.

Lippert spent the next decade teaching in New York City and the surrounding areas, using storytelling as a foundation for much of her classroom instruction. She received her Ed. D. in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1983 and wrote her dissertation on the use of storytelling in the classroom.

Lippert currently resides in Mercer Island, WA, with her husband Alan. Her two daughters, Jocelyn Ruth (b. 1982) and Dawn Samantha (b. 1984), live in Washington D.C.

Lippert matriculated at Swarthmore College in 1960. During her years at Swarthmore, she was active in the civil rights movement, traveling to Tennessee to register black voters in the state. While living with a black sharecropper family, she had both inspiring and harrowing experiences, including being shot at by segregationists. After graduating from Swarthmore in 1964, she volunteered for two years with the American Friends Service Committee. Stationed in Tanzania for her first year, it was where her lifelong passion for African culture and storytelling began. She spent her second year in Guatemala, where she learned Spanish.

Margaret H. Lippert (born June 12, 1942) is an American author of books and anthologies drawing from the folklore and storytelling traditions of cultures from around the world.