Mary Beth Spann Mank is a New York State-Certified Teacher (Nursery-Grade 6), author, speaker, workshop leader, and puppeteer. She has taught young children in public, private, and parochial school settings, as well as at home and online.

Mary Beth is a longtime Long Island resident who has spoken both locally and nationally to teachers, librarians, parents, and caregivers on the power of puppetry and storytelling to transform teaching and learning.

She has authored 45+ teacher resource books and 75 + children’s readers for prominent educational publishing houses, such as Scholastic, Inc., Learning Resources®, and Time for Kids®.

Mary Beth’s newest publication is titled, Teaching with Puppets Made Easy: How to Use Puppets to Support Social-Emotional Learning and Early School Success! (2026)