Pyramid of the Lost World (con't)
“By the time the Spaniards arrived in the sixteenth century, the great cities were deserted and covered by jungle. As a young child, I was intrigued by the mystery of their decline,” Sandra explains. This is part of the reason her book is written for middle-school age children. “At this age, you can still find children who are fascinated by a mystery, and they love a good story. “ Sandra also loves books written for this age group, as it was her favorite age to teach. “I didn’t want the book to have a romantic element that so many young adult books do, but they are old enough that I can be upfront about certain issues,” she says—including theft and losing a job.
Sandra became inspired to turn her love for this culture into a book when her daughter became interested in the Mayans as well. Her daughter was able to spend six summers in Belize at different Mayan sites. “I was so excited for her to have this wonderful opportunity,” Sandra says. She believes that all children should have an opportunity similar to this one. Pyramid of the Lost World gives children a taste of a culture they cannot visit on their own. Her goal is to bring knowledge and a desire to learn more about the Mayan culture to young children.
From her experience as a teacher, Sandra sees that children are being taught history “from a European perspective that can be very limiting.” When she taught American history, she always included a lesson on the Mayans as well. “I thought it was important for students to understand that there were advanced civilizations in the Americas long before the Europeans came, and that the Mayans had many accomplishments at a time when much of Europe was in the Dark Ages.” She wants children to experience history in a different context.
Desiring a change in her life, and always looking for a new opportunity to challenge herself, Sandra became a lawyer after ten years of teaching. Writing Pyramid of the Lost World was another new and challenging project for her.
How to begin writing a book was a struggle. “I’m sure no one else’s process is like mine,” Sandra jokes of her writing process. She starts out making a list of things she wants to incorporate to bring the book alive, such as colors, trees, birds and smells. She finds the main thread of the book and then outlines almost half. “I know how it ends,” she says, “but I’m unsure of the middle, so I just start writing.” Sandra finds a base for the book, but the rest is a product of what has come before. The characters dictate themselves and often change drastically from draft to draft.
One such event that was dictated by the story yet inspired by a real Mayan artifact is the cave drawing of a girl ball-player. While the drawing in the cave is fictional, statues were found at a Mayan site depicting female ball players. Sandra believes that adding the drawing was not only important to the plot, but also to the story. Children “often don’t learn about the role of girls in sports in different cultures,” she says. It was important for Sandra to include this figure in the story so that readers understand that females did play a part in physical activities and even sacrifices in Mayan culture.
Sandra’s second book in her Lost World series is titled Island of the Lost World. This time, the girls explore a Greek Island and a Minoan site—a culture even older than the Mayans. One of the girls goes missing and may have been kidnapped, and a mysterious cult thought to be extinct is suspected of the crime. The girls must try and find her!
“The Maya were our American ancestors, and we should be proud of their accomplishments, “ Sandra says about the goal of this book. It will provoke children to marvel at and unearth the mystery that continues to unfold.
To order, click here.
Sandra became inspired to turn her love for this culture into a book when her daughter became interested in the Mayans as well. Her daughter was able to spend six summers in Belize at different Mayan sites. “I was so excited for her to have this wonderful opportunity,” Sandra says. She believes that all children should have an opportunity similar to this one. Pyramid of the Lost World gives children a taste of a culture they cannot visit on their own. Her goal is to bring knowledge and a desire to learn more about the Mayan culture to young children.
From her experience as a teacher, Sandra sees that children are being taught history “from a European perspective that can be very limiting.” When she taught American history, she always included a lesson on the Mayans as well. “I thought it was important for students to understand that there were advanced civilizations in the Americas long before the Europeans came, and that the Mayans had many accomplishments at a time when much of Europe was in the Dark Ages.” She wants children to experience history in a different context.
Desiring a change in her life, and always looking for a new opportunity to challenge herself, Sandra became a lawyer after ten years of teaching. Writing Pyramid of the Lost World was another new and challenging project for her.
How to begin writing a book was a struggle. “I’m sure no one else’s process is like mine,” Sandra jokes of her writing process. She starts out making a list of things she wants to incorporate to bring the book alive, such as colors, trees, birds and smells. She finds the main thread of the book and then outlines almost half. “I know how it ends,” she says, “but I’m unsure of the middle, so I just start writing.” Sandra finds a base for the book, but the rest is a product of what has come before. The characters dictate themselves and often change drastically from draft to draft.
One such event that was dictated by the story yet inspired by a real Mayan artifact is the cave drawing of a girl ball-player. While the drawing in the cave is fictional, statues were found at a Mayan site depicting female ball players. Sandra believes that adding the drawing was not only important to the plot, but also to the story. Children “often don’t learn about the role of girls in sports in different cultures,” she says. It was important for Sandra to include this figure in the story so that readers understand that females did play a part in physical activities and even sacrifices in Mayan culture.
Sandra’s second book in her Lost World series is titled Island of the Lost World. This time, the girls explore a Greek Island and a Minoan site—a culture even older than the Mayans. One of the girls goes missing and may have been kidnapped, and a mysterious cult thought to be extinct is suspected of the crime. The girls must try and find her!
“The Maya were our American ancestors, and we should be proud of their accomplishments, “ Sandra says about the goal of this book. It will provoke children to marvel at and unearth the mystery that continues to unfold.
To order, click here.