Margaret Hillert

Margaret Hillert Poems

Margaret Hillert Biography

Margaret Hillert (January 22, 1920 – October 11, 2014) was an American author, poet and educator. Hillert, a life long resident of the state of Michigan, was widely known for her children's literature, 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 in 1920. She was best known for her Dear Dragon 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, Kinuko Y. Craft, and Dick Martin. Hillert received a nursing degree from the University of Michigan and a teaching degree from Wayne State University. She taught First Grade at Whittier Elementary in the Royal Oak Public School District for 34 years. She died on October 11, 2014 at the age of 94.)

The Best Poem Of Margaret Hillert

First Thanksgiving

If I had been a Pilgrim child
Among the fields and forests wild
Where deer and turkey used to roam,
A cabin would have been my home
With fireplace and earthen floor
And bearskins hanging at the door.

I would have gathered berries bright
For candles fragrantly alight,
And dug for clams and picked the corn
And laid the table smooth and worn.
Or hunted nuts hard-shelled and good
And helped in any way I could,
With time to laugh and play and run
When Indian children came for fun.

And on the first Thanksgiving Day
I would have met with friends to pray
And thank the Lord for all his care
In keeping us together there.

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