Karen Konnerth

I am a New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, based writer, illustrator, puppeteer, and arts integration specialist focused on literacy and creative thinking. I believe in the transformative power of the arts to inspire and motivate children everywhere to reach their best potential.

My background as professional puppeteer became the foundation for my specialization in arts integrated teaching, as well as my visual storytelling through writing and illustration of books for children. I have distilled my countless classroom hours developing, implementing, and refining arts integrated projects to present for the National Art Education Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for the U.S. Embassy English Language Specialist Program in Central America, Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. And, I have two books available to lead teachers smoothly into the motivating world of arts integration through puppetry.

And I travel far and wide to support teachers in their critical work growing readers.

I offer in-person professional development workshops as well as written and video packets for classroom use. I have led projects in a wide range of venues such as:

Louisiana librarians learning to create their own shows to augment library literacy incentives

Classroom teachers in Wisconsin creating a puppet community to teach social studies

Pre-school teachers in Umlazi Township, South Africa using puppetry to nurture literacy

English teachers in Bahrain using shadow puppets to encourage natural use of language

Parents at a hospital in Chenai, India, making puppets for their children of tailors’ silk scraps

I also write and illustrate books for children because I love creating characters and worlds that never existed before - to contribute to the important work of nurturing the imaginations of children.And I will have two picture books available in 2022, one published by Pelican Publishing, and one by Sleeping Bear Press.

Learn more here: www.karenkonnerth.com