Things That Blow My Mind About Animals

Elvia Gómez Troya is from Egüés, Navarra, Spain. She was just 11 when she wrote this book. But unlike other young people, she doesn't rack up hours of screen time or immerse herself in video games: Elvia spends her time in the fresh air, exploring marshes and mudflats, forests and deserts. This book, her first, is a record of her young life reading tracks and other marks left by the creatures she adores.
 
With an innate ability to read the whispers of the wild and a mission to share her passion, Elvia embodies the name Elvia la rastreadora, or Elvia the tracker. Raised by parents deeply connected to nature, Elvia's journey began by learning to track wildlife from a young age, a skill she now powerfully leverages to educate and inspire global conservation efforts, primarily through her dynamic Instagram account and her book.
 
Her former science teacher, Javier Salinas Arrieta, notes her exceptional knowledge and conviction: "I had never seen students her age... capable of explaining things about plants or animals even to the guides of the extracurricular activities we took them to from school." Elvia's core philosophy, inspired by figures like David Attenborough and her parents (her father, Fernando Gómez, a recognized professional tracker), is that love for nature naturally leads to its protection. As she says, "Nature needs more people to love and protect it."
 
Elvia is already the author of a second book in Spanish, Eco Salvaje, and has founded a community for nature enthusiasts called Wilders. She dreams of continuing her conservation work and inspiring more children and adults to become "superheroes for a cause."