Karen Ackerman (born October 10, 1951, Cincinnati, Ohio)^[1] is an American author of children's books.

She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and she graduated from Woodward High School in 1969.^[2]

Ackerman's first children's book was published in 1982. She has since published over twenty-five books. Her books have won many awards including Parents' Choice, ABA Pick of the List, ALA Notable Books, Children's Book Council/NCSS Notable Books in the Field of Social Studies, New York Library Best List, Horn Book's Best, and School Library Journal Best Books.

Her picture-book Song and Dance Man, illustrated by Stephen Gammell, won the 1989 Caldecott Medal.^[3] The book was adapted into a children's theater production at the Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove, Wisconsin in 2019.^[4]

Caldecott Medal, 1989, for the book Song and Dance Man, illustrated by Stephen Gammell, Knopf, 1988^[5]

• Flannery Row. New York: Atlantic Monthly (1986)
• Song & Dance Man (1988)
• Theo's Vineyard (1989)
• Araminta's Paint Box, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. (1990)
• The Banshee, illustrated by David Ray. New York: Philomel (1990)
• Just Like Max, illustrated by George Schmidt. New York: Knopf (1990)
• The Tin Heart (1990)
• Moveable Mabeline (1990)
• When Mama Retires. New York: Knopf (1992)
• I Know A Place, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray. New York: Houghton Mifflin (1992)
• This Old House. New York: Atheneum (1992)
• By the Dawn's Early Light, illustrated by Catherine Stock (1994)
• The Sleeping Porch, illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles. New York: Morrow (1995)
• Bingleman's Midway, illustrated by Barry Moser. Honesdale: Boyds Mills Press (1995)
• In the Park With Dad: A Story for Kids Whose Parents Don't Live Together illustrated by Linda Crockett-Blassingame. Boston: Pauline Books and Media (1996)
• Walking With Clara Belle, illustrated by Debbie Mason. Boston: Pauline Books and Media (1996)
• Bean's Big Day (2004)

• The Leaves in October (1991)
• The Broken Boy. New York: Philomel (1991)
• The Night Crossing (1994)