Carolyn Mueller Kelly earned a B.A. in creative writing from DePauw University and has worked for over two decades at the Saint Louis Zoo. A carnivore expert, she has experience working with a variety of animals, from tiny naked mole rats to a 1300-pound polar bear. Carolyn has contributed writings to St. Louis Magazine, The Huffington Post, Motherly, Animal Keepers’ Forum, STLZOO Magazine, and the Missouri Press Association’s Newspapers in Education series. She is the author of eight books through Reedy Press; Bubbles the Dwarf Zebu, Lily: A True Story of Courage and the Joplin Tornado, Happy Birthday, St. Louis!, Dizzy Dean and the Gashouse Gang, St. Louis Boo, Missouri Almanac 2018-2019, Forest Park: A Walk Through History and Amazing Missouri Animals.
An avid marathon runner and watercolor artist, Carolyn can be found mothering her own wild things, Jack and Adelaide, at home in St. Louis.