On September 30th, my school was invaded…….. invaded by J&P VOELKEL!
J&P Voelkel are a husband/wife author team who have written
the Jaguar Stone series:
Meet 14-year-old Max Murphy from Boston, and Lola, the quick-witted Maya girl who teaches him to survive in the perilous rainforest. Together, Max and Lola must find the five legendary Jaguar Stones that gave ancient Maya kings their power – and save the world from the evil, cheating Lords of Death.
In The Jaguar Stones, Book One: Middleworld, Max leaves his comfortable life in Boston far behind and heads for Central America in search of his archaeologist parents who have gone missing on a dig. Set against a backdrop of haunted temples, underground rivers and Maya magic, The New England Booksellers Council called Middleworld “funny, fast paced and entirely original.”
In The Jaguar Stones, Book Two: The End of the World Club, the action moves from Central America to Spain, as Max and Lola set off on the trail of the conquistadors. As the rest of the world panics about the end of the Maya Calendar, only Max and Lola can avert the coming doomsday as they continue their battle against the Maya Lords of Death. Booklist called The End of the World Club “a fact-packed, thrilling ride. Rick Riordan fans will love it.”
In The Jaguar Stones, Book Three: The River of no Return, Max and Lola are back in the jungles of the Maya and the Death Lords are on the warpath. Can video-gaming, pizza-loving Max Murphy and Lola, his modern Maya sidekick, save the world one more time? Not if they can’t get past the zombie army, the mutant cave spiders, the subterranean hotel, and some very dark family secrets.
This author visit includes everything a teacher and student could want. Yes, you learn about the Jaguar Stone books (which sound amazing! I’d love to read them, but they are always checked out!), but it was so much more:
During the presentation (which entertained more than 400 of my reading students), they taught about the Mayans, their mythology, survival in the jungle (including having one of my teachers eat a mealworm!), blow darts, archaeology, rainforest ecology, monkey sounds, writing AND rock & roll. The presentation was a perfect mix of teaching, entertaining, interactive activities, and book talks keeping the students engaged the entire time.
If a presentation ever made students want to read a book, this was the presentation! How often can a student say they learned about the Mayan god of death, a teacher ate a bug, they got sprayed by water, an author played guitar standing on a table AND they learned about a book?!?!
And it all doesn’t have to end when the visit does: They also have amazing ways for students to interact with them after the visit is over: The Jaguarstone Club. The club includes many exclusive articles, cartoons, a blog, news, and giveaways. Students can join on their website.
There are also amazing resources for teachers. The Jaguar Stone website has a FOR TEACHERS section that includes all sorts of resources: Lesson plans & Reader Guides, Maya Math, Jaguar Stone inspired school projects, Maya calendar, writing Maya glyphs, What’s your Maya birth sign?, making a Maya King costume, meet the real Indiana Joneses, and a list of Maya books.
We were so lucky to have J&P visit and you could be too!
Right on their FOR TEACHERS section of their website is a link to a school visit waitlist. It is through this waitlist that this amazing visit was able happen. Trust me, you will not regret having these two come visit your school.
