Mahy died in Christchurch on 23 July 2012, aged 76. She is the author of more than two hundred books for children of all ages, two of which have received Englands Carnegie Medal and others of which have garnered numerous citations from the American Library Association. Margaret Mahy 's books have been translated into more than fifteen languages. Margaret Mahy (19362012), the celebrated author of books for children and young adults, wore this badge adorned scarf when she gave readings in schools and libraries. Margaret Mahy lives in New Zealand and is internationally acknowledged as one of the most outstanding childrens writers today. Besides this, she twice won the prestigious Carnegie Medal, ('The Haunting', 1982, and 'The Changeover' 1984) In the States too, her books are rapturously received, several having been chosen as ALA Notables and Best Books of the Year. Margaret published well over a hundred titles and won several major prizes and awards including the highest honour New Zealand offers, The Order of New Zealand, limited to 20 living people, for her internationally-acclaimed contribution to children's literature.

They were taken and she really was A Writer. They asked for more and Margaret sent them one hundred - fifteen years of unpublished work. In 1968, an American publisher spotted one of her stories published in a journal issued to New Zealand schools. A lion in the meadow by Margaret Mahy, Jenny Williams, 1969, Watts edition, in English. Margaret Mahys A Lion in the Meadow is a fun and colourful childrens book that blurs the lines between the real and imaginary worlds. She brought up her two daughters alone, which at the time meant life was often tough. She studied philosophy at university in Auckland and Christchurch, and then qualified as a librarian, specialising in children's reading. She was a solitary little tomboy, living in her own world and talking out loud to herself.

Margaret Mahy was born in New Zealand in 1936, the eldest of five children, with a huge extended family in the surrounding neighbourhood, and from the beginning her vivid imagination and love of storytelling sometimes confused reality and fantasy.

A lion in the meadow by margaret mahy