Nancy Castaldo author page

Nancy Castaldo biography

Nancy Castaldo is an American author of nonfiction for children and an environmental educator. She studied science and later earned a master’s degree, and has worked in environmental education as well as writing and photography. She has written more than two dozen books for young readers, with subjects including wildlife, conservation, agriculture, food, science and notable figures from history.

Her books include Sniffer Dogs: How Dogs (and Their Noses) Save the World, Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel, Back from the Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction, When the World Runs Dry and The Story of Seeds: From Mendel’s Garden to Your Plate, and How There’s More of Less to Eat Around the World. She has also contributed to National Geographic Kids books and written DK Life Stories: Ada Lovelace, a biography for younger readers published by DK Children.

Sniffer Dogs won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ New York Crystal Kite Award in 2015. The Story of Seeds won the 2017 Green Earth Book Award for children’s and young adult nonfiction, while Beastly Brains received another New York Crystal Kite Award in 2018.

Castaldo has also written about farming and the origins of food for younger children. The Farm That Feeds Us was illustrated by Ginnie Hsu, who also illustrated its later companion The World That Feeds Us. The latter was published by words & pictures in 2023 and examines farming practices and food production around the world through the seasons.