Nancy Castaldo

In this fascinating nonfiction account, author Nancy F. Castaldo reveals just what's going on inside the minds of animals, and through understanding animal intelligence we discover more about ourselves, including far more similarities than one might expect. Humans may have the biggest brains, but intelligence is not a quality exclusive to only us! "

How Animals Use Their Brains to Think, Feel, Share (and Steal)

Beastly Brains

Something as small as a seed can have a world-wide impact.From Iraq to India to an impenetrable seed vault in a Norwegian mountainside, this book speaks to the current ways we think about our food, the more thoughtful and philosophical questions about regulating which crops farmers are allowed to grow, and what consumers are able to eat. Readers will discover just how important seeds are to the functioning of our global economy and how much power we as a world-wide community have to keep seeds around, because once a seed disappears, it's gone forever. Nonfiction for ages10 to 14."

From Mendel's Garden to Your Plate, and How There's More of Less to Eat Around the World

The Story of Seeds

In this exhilarating installment of the award-winning Scientists in the Field series, journey to the isolated islands of Isle Royale National Park where the longest predator/prey study in the world is being conducted along with a controversial genetic rescue to save not only the wolves and moose, but the entire island ecosystem.

Restoring an Island Ecosystem

The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale

Where does our food come from? What role do farms play? What’s it like to be a farmer? In this charmingly illustrated book, follow a farm throughout the year to discover how the farmer grows fresh and tasty food for us to eat in a sustainable and natural way. Explore the workings of a small-scale, organic family farm and experience the rhythm of farm life. In the spring, visit the chicken coop, till the fields, and tour the farm machinery. When summer comes, plant corn, meet the pollinators, and head to the county fair. In the fall, make pies and preserves, harvest pumpkins, and put the fields to sleep. Winter activities include trimming and pruning the orchard, seed shopping, and baking bread. To conclude your year on the farm, learn what you can do to support the farmers who pick our carrots and raise the cows for our milk. A glossary defines key sustainable farming terms. Through this colorful and intimate look at life on a small-scale farm, children will learn not only how the farm feeds us, but how the farmer must feed and care for the farm.

Follow a family farm through all four seasons

The Farm That Feeds Us

In Beastly Brains, Castaldo delves into the minds of animals and explores animal empathy, communication, tool use, and social societies through interviews and historical anecdotes. Researchers from Charles Darwin to Jane Goodall have spent years analyzing the minds of animals, and today’s science is revolutionizing old theories and uncovering surprising similarities to our own minds. Humans are not alone in our ability to think about ourselves, make plans, help each other, or even participate in deception. You’ll think differently about the animals on this planet—maybe it’s their world and we’re just living in it!

Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel

Squirrels are a common sight, seemingly everywhere in wild and urban nature. Their chattering antics in city parks delight us while their raids on our backyard gardens and birdfeeders never fail to exasperate. But squirrels are more than amusing backyard entertainers, and few of us know much about them or fully appreciate their role in keeping the environment healthy. As stress on the natural world intensifies, should we be paying more attention to the plight of squirrels? In Squirrel, Nancy Castaldo shines new light on this familiar backyard mammal, exploring their staggering diversity (they’re found on all continents but Antarctica) and the many surprising ways they shape our world, our communities, and our cultures. Each chapter explores an aspect of squirrels and their close and sometimes fraught association with humans: their importance to myriad ecosystems through sophisticated food-caching strategies; their introduction to nineteenth-century urban parks as adorable ambassadors for nature; their complicated global status as both invasive and endangered; their role as celebrated cultural icons and social media memes; and ultimately, why we must prevent population declines and protect their well-being while we can. Like other wildlife species, squirrels are increasingly stressed by climate change, and their speculative fate may foreshadow our own. The book includes a detailed bibliography, an exhaustive list of squirrel species and their status, and tips for coexisting peaceably with squirrels in our yards and neighborhoods. Chapters are introduced by exquisitely drawn historical illustrations.

How a Backyard Forager Shapes Our World

Squirrel

Raffaele makes the best pizza in all of Napoli. It is so good that even Queen Margherita has requested a taste. Raffaele runs around town collecting the finest ingredients for the pizzas he’s planning for the queen, but when a sneaky cat eats the anchovies, he has to revise his plans. Inspired by the colors of the Italian flag, the pizza Raffaele creates is one that delights not only the queen but pizza lovers for generations to come. Accompanied by a generous assortment of rich and detailed acrylic paintings, the story ends with a pizza recipe meant to tempt the taste buds of pizza lovers everywhere.

Pizza for the Queen

In this kids' biography, discover the inspiring story of Ada Lovelace, who wrote the world's first computer program. In 1833, Ada Lovelace met mathematician Charles Babbage, inventor of calculating machines. She went on to devise a way of inputting data into Babbage's Analytical Machine, and in doing so became the first ever computer programmer. In this biography book for 8-11 year olds, learn all about Ada Lovelace's fascinating life, including her famous father (celebrated poet Lord Byron), her talent for languages and mathematics, and her predictions for how computers could change our lives. This new biography series from DK goes beyond the basic facts to tell the true life stories of history's most interesting people. Full-color photographs and hand-drawn illustrations complement thoughtfully written, age-appropriate text to create an engaging book children will enjoy reading. Definition boxes, information sidebars, maps, inspiring quotes, and other nonfiction text features add depth, and a handy reference section at the back makes this the one biography series every teacher and librarian will want to collect. Each book also includes an author's introduction letter, a glossary, and an index.

DK Life Stories Ada Lovelace

Discover the inspiring story of Ada Lovelace, one of the first computer scientists, who predicted how computers could change our lives in this fascinating kids' biography. In 1833, Ada Lovelace met mathematician Charles Babbage, inventor of calculating machines. She went on to devise a way of inputting data into Babbage's Analytical Machine, and in doing so became the first ever computer programmer. In this biography book for 8-11 year olds, learn all about Ada Lovelace's intriguing life, including her talent for languages and mathematics, and her fascination with science. This new kids' biography series from DK goes beyond the basic facts to tell the true life stories of history's most interesting and inspiring people. Full-colour photographs and hand-drawn illustrations complement age-appropriate narrative text to create an engaging book children will enjoy reading. Definition boxes, information sidebars, inspiring quotes, and other nonfiction text features add depth, and a handy reference section at the back makes DK Life Stories the one biography series everyone will want to collect.

Nancy Castaldo

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