Carmela McCain Simmons

Carmela McCain Simmons writes picture books to inspire children to explore our natural world. Her stories empower young readers to be nature heroes by taking small steps to help our environment.

A Peruvian-American, Carmela spent most of her childhood in Florida. When she wasn’t reading, she was swimming with dolphins, trekking through mangroves, and rescuing lost baby sea turtles. As a teenager, her family moved to Peru where Carmela fell in love with traveling. She hiked up Machu Picchu. She rode a donkey across the desert. She flew over the Andes Mountains to the Amazon jungle seated on a giant pumpkin in the hold of a cargo plane. She still travels whenever she can, just not seated on pumpkins or donkeys anymore.

As an educator in Peru and the US, Carmela loved integrating stories, art, and hands-on science fun into the curriculum. With the support of local scouts, volunteers, and grants, she built a school nature garden where her students tagged migrating monarchs, wrote poetry, and raced solar cars. Before retiring from teaching to write full-time, she was honored as her school district’s Teacher of the Year.

Carmela lives in Texas with her husband, surrounded by books, butterflies, hummingbirds, and an occasional armadillo.

Carmela McCain Simmons is represented by Ana Crespo.