Yellow is my favorite color because it is the color of the sun. My favorite number is eight because it seems like a cat waiting for somebody to draw its ears and tail. I like chocolate and pizza almost as much as I love writing books for girls and boys. I find reading fascinating, and I always have a book at hand. I collect key chains from everywhere I go. Monday is my lucky day – I think because I opened my eyes for the first time at the beginning of a week in May, on a brilliant dawn in Quito, Ecuador.

I have six children, four boys and two girls, and twelve grandchildren (for now). I live in the countryside with my husband, who is very nice and supportive, and my four dogs, which are my writing companions, since they stay by my side while I am writing. One of them is a fierce Chihuahua. He takes his job of guarding me seriously. The other two are Golden Retrievers and another is a grey Schnauzer. I have won several national and international prices like the Cervantes Chico Award from Spain. But my biggest award of all is the chance to talk to my readers when I visit schools. I have published seventy books (for children from 5 to 17 years old and I love them all equally since they are also my paper children born from my fantasy.

I believe that the Amazon Rain Forest belongs to us for ever and ever… and one day. That day is now, and tomorrow, and the day after and all the days to come. Because our ancestors planted deep in our hearts the seeds of hope.

Edna Iturralde