Benedict Benny Maresca Benedict lives with his wife, Amie, in South Carolina. He grew up on Long Island, New York, and went to La Salle Military Academy. He was an assistant to the chemistry teacher, which was when his love of chemistry started. Benedict is an amateur astronomer, and he plays classical guitar and still plays in the laboratory every day. He also enjoys art and spends time drawing and painting. He drew all the illustrations in his books. He went to school at the Citadel for a bachelor of science in chemistry and followed these studies with graduate work, specializing in molecular and cellular biology and organometallic chemistry. He has been in the chemical and biological industry for over thirty years, and he is now technical director for a company he and his wife, Amie, started called Martech Research LLC, located in Bishopville, South Carolina. His goal in this series of books is to introduce certain ideas and scientific concepts to children at an early age and spur questions that can turn into constructive conversations, teaching the parents at the same time. Many of the concepts are taken for granted and are given scientific explanations.