Sneed B. Collard III has written more than fifty acclaimed books for young people including Pocket Babies, Science Warriors, Wings, Reign of the Sea Dragons, and The Prairie Builders, which was awarded the AAAS/Subaru Science Books & Films prize for the best middle grade science book of 2005.

Before beginning his writing career, Sneed graduated with honors in marine biology from the University of California at Berkeley. Afterward, he worked as a field biologist before earning a master’s degree in scientific instrumentation from U.C. Santa Barbara. While honing his writing skills, he spent several years working as a computer consultant for biologists at U.C.S.B. This experience gave him a wealth of writing ideas.

Sneed’s first children’s publications were stories and articles for Cricket, Highlights for Children, and other children’s magazines. In 1993, his first two books were published, Sea Snakes (Boyds Mills Press) and Creepy Creatures (Charlesbridge). Since then, he has written books for all ages and in most genres.

To research and write his nonfiction books, Sneed has traveled to Australia, Costa Rica, Southeast Asia, and the deep-sea floor. What sets his books apart is that he goes directly to the source for his information, interviewing scientists at work, reading scientific papers, and observing the world for himself. Almost all of his science books have received multiple honors, including his newest, Science Warriors—The Battle Against Invasive Species.

More recently, Sneed has focused his attention on fiction. His three novels include Dog Sense, winner of the Flicker Tale Award and the 2006 ASPCA Henry Bergh Award, and Flash Point, winner of the 2007 Green Earth Book Award and a Henry Bergh Honor Book. Booklist says of his newest novel, Double Eagle, “Batten down the hatches! Collard’s engaging story, set in 1973, offers a diverting page-turning mystery…”