Author Krista Weltner Shares about Her Adventures with Dyslexia
“My advice to caregivers, teachers, and parents is to find ways to support your child’s self-esteem. Look out for genuine displays of intelligence and point that out to the child. ”
Following is an informational Q+A with Krista Weltner, Author of Everyday Adventures with Molly and Dyslexia. In honor of Read Across America week, Krista will be reading from her picture book series at our webinar on Thursday, March 7th at 7pm ET. To join us, register here. At the conclusion of her webinar, we will have a book giveaway. You must be present to win.
Q: Krista, you are an accomplished author, illustrator, and puppet maker. Could you tell us a bit about what sparked your creative career?
A: I’ve been making and creating ever since I can remember. My mother was an art teacher, and I was surrounded by opportunities to explore my artistic side. Some of my earliest memories are making doll house furniture and sewing costumes for my stuffed animals. It’s hard to say when my career began. However, following graduate school, I began working full-time for a company that makes puppets, costumed characters, and animatronics for theme parks.
Q: You currently work in the themed entertainment and stop-motion industries as a fabricator of animated figures. What does your work entail? What films have you supported through your animation work?
A: Yes! I do bounce between jobs quite a bit. I work for a vendor that creates animatronics and other pieces for several of the larger theme parks in the Orlando area. I also worked on a film with Laika Studios called Wildwood (which has not yet been released). However, some of my work can be seen in Netflix's animation series Wendell and Wild. For that project, I was a hair and fur specialist. I worked on a small team that created all the miniature puppet wigs.
Q: Please tell us about the inspiration for your picture book series, Everyday Adventures with Molly and Dyslexia (Free Spirit Publishing 2024).
Krista pictured with her book series.
A: This is the project I’m most proud of. I am dyslexic and feel I have a responsibility to help children and adults connected to dyslexia. My series focuses on Molly and her dyslexia, who appears as an imaginary friend with whom she can confide and interact. With the series, I hope to give children the opportunity to consider their own relationship to this part of themselves. The series is an honest portrayal of the struggles and triumphs associated with dyslexia and touches on themes of self-advocacy and self-acceptance.
I’m so grateful to my publisher (Free Spirit Publishing.) When we started the conversation, I had only one book in mind. It was their idea to expand it to a series. Having three books allowed me to cover dyslexia in depth.
Q: Your short film, Partially Compensated, which was inspired by your experience with dyslexia, has been seen in film festivals worldwide and has afforded you numerous opportunities to engage and advocate with others for a more inclusive world. When people watch your film what message do you hope they take away with them?
A still image from Krista Weltner’s film, Partially Compensated.
A: The goal of my film is to show people how dyslexia feels. There are plenty of resources about what dyslexia is, but the part I’ve always felt misunderstood about was the internal struggles and emotional impact it had on me. As a child, I felt my difference immensely, and I did a lot to compensate for this. I felt isolated and confused in the classroom. I struggle with anxiety as an adult, and I can trace a lot back to how I felt day after day in school. The film also has a more profound message about the importance of feeling accepted by our teachers. If I had expanded this film, I would have gone into the pressures that teachers face in the classroom as well as the problematic nature of balancing all the needs of all the students in their classroom.
Q: What did you wish you knew as a student with dyslexia that you know now – in other words what would you tell your younger self?
Krista working on her film, Partially Compensated.
I would tell myself that I was smart. I’m sure that I heard this from my parents, but I think it’s something that dyslexia kids need to hear more often. My advice to caregivers, teachers, and parents is to find ways to support your child’s self-esteem. Look out for genuine displays of intelligence and point that out to the child. It probably won’t be a high grade on a report card, but it might look more like solving a problem in a creative way, pursuing an interest, working hard ect.
It’s almost a universal experience for dyslexic people to feel fearful that others will think we are stupid. Not that we are, but that we will be perceived that way. And I think that’s really interesting. Our internal world can be rich and vibrate. We often have normal to above-average intelligence, but our “output” in a traditional school setting doesn’t match this. We find creative ways to navigate traditional education that isn’t set up for us, and from an outside perspective, it can look like failure, misunderstanding, ect.
Q: Please tell our readers how they can learn more about you and your work.
A: You can head to my website, www.kristaweltner.com to check out all of my work. My book links are here.
My film is on YouTube for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dk1KAy16Fs
If you want to follow my artistic adventures, check out my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristaweltner