Betty Culley is the acclaimed author of the middle-grade novel Down to Earth, which received a starred review from Booklist, calling it “captivating,” and the YA novel in verse Three Things I Know Are True, which was a Kids’ Indie Next List Top Ten Pick and an ALA- YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults nominee. When writing The Natural Genius of Ants, Betty kept an ant farm and cared for a carpenter ant queen. She’s worked as a pediatric nurse and lives in a small town in central Maine. You can find her online at bettyculley.com.