DEAR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
We hope Jaguars and Butterflies brings a sense of wonder, joy, and self-empowerment to the young people in your life, and that it deepens their understanding of Mexico as a land of magnificent ethnic, cultural, and geographic diversity.
For further learning and self-empowerment:
• Invite your children to point out which young people in the book they resemble. You can say: “They are beautiful, just like you. Do they seem brave? Kind? What makes you think that?” You can affirm your child with phrases like: “Wow, you two sound similar. You are both incredible.”
• Help your children conduct internet searches using terms in the book that spark their curiosity. If they are not yet readers, you can help them explore images. Searching “monarch butterfl ies in Mexico,” for example, is a fun place to start. You can explore the Glossary for more ideas.
• Use the book’s text as the script for a play or spoken word performance. Encourage your children to channel the power and confidence of the young people in the book.
• Help young readers identify a culture in Mexico they’d like to learn about. There are many possibilities! Mexico is home to at least sixty-eight Indigenous groups, each with a unique ethnicity and language. Languages like Náhuatl, Maya, and Mixteco are spoken by hundreds of thousands of people and include a variety of dialects, while others are in danger of disappearing.
• Download free PDF copies of Jaguars and Butterflies in English and Spanish at www.jaguarsandbutterflies.com. Compare the texts to learn new words in English or Spanish. Print your favorite images and hang them as inspirational art for your children.
With love, Ely Ely and Catherine,
Creators of Jaguars and Butterflies.
DEAR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
We hope Jaguars and Butterflies brings a sense of wonder, joy, and self-empowerment to the young people in your life, and that it deepens their understanding of Mexico as a land of magnificent ethnic, cultural, and geographic diversity.
For further learning and self-empowerment:
• Invite your children to point out which young people in the book they resemble. You can say: “They are beautiful, just like you. Do they seem brave? Kind? What makes you think that?” You can affirm your child with phrases like: “Wow, you two sound similar. You are both incredible.”
• Help your children conduct internet searches using terms in the book that spark their curiosity. If they are not yet readers, you can help them explore images. Searching “monarch butterfl ies in Mexico,” for example, is a fun place to start. You can explore the Glossary for more ideas.
• Use the book’s text as the script for a play or spoken word performance. Encourage your children to channel the power and confidence of the young people in the book.
• Help young readers identify a culture in Mexico they’d like to learn about. There are many possibilities! Mexico is home to at least sixty-eight Indigenous groups, each with a unique ethnicity and language. Languages like Náhuatl, Maya, and Mixteco are spoken by hundreds of thousands of people and include a variety of dialects, while others are in danger of disappearing.
• Download free PDF copies of Jaguars and Butterflies in English and Spanish at www.jaguarsandbutterflies.com. Compare the texts to learn new words in English or Spanish. Print your favorite images and hang them as inspirational art for your children.
With love, Ely Ely and Catherine,
Creators of Jaguars and Butterflies.
CULTURAL AND GEOGRAPHIC TERMS
Abuelita
Pronounced ah-bway-LEE-tah. Abuelita is the diminutive (a term of endearment) of Abuela, which means grandmother in Spanish. In Spanish, a word becomes a diminutive when “ito” or “ita” is added to the end. The extensive use of the diminutive in Mexican Spanish is due to the influence of Náhuatl (see below).
Black Jaguar
The jaguar is the largest cat species native to the Americas. Most jaguars are yellow or light brown with dark spots, but in some jungle areas a special gene makes their fur dark all over. Jaguars are fast and powerful, and they were highly respected in the original cultures of Mexico and Central America.
Cacao
Chocolate is made from the beans of the cacao tree, whose native range spans from the Amazon Basin to southeast Mexico. People in what is now Mexico and Central America started making generally unsweetened forms of chocolate (a word that comes from the Náhuatl language) between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago. The Mayans were the great developers of chocolate knowledge. The Mayans, and later the Aztecs, used cacao beans as money, in ceremonial drinks, and in a variety of culinary preparations. When the Spanish invaded, they copied the Aztecs’ ceremonial chocolate drink and added sugar. Chocolate subsequently became wildly popular in other parts of the world.
Café de Olla
A delicious coffee made in a clay pot with cinnamon, unrefined cane sugar (piloncillo), cloves, and sometimes orange peels or chocolate. It can be traced back to the Mexican Revolution, when it was prepared by female soldiers. Café de olla is said to have been a favorite of Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata.
Gendered Sun and Moon
This book depicts the sun as masculine and the moon as feminine because original cultures in Mexico and Central America often thought of the sun as a male god and the moon as a female goddess. Furthermore, the Spanish language genders the sun (el sol) as masculine and the moon (la luna) as feminine.
Great Mayan Reef
The largest coral reef in the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Mayan Reef is over 1,000 kilometers long, extending from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula to Honduras. It is also called the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.
Náhuatl
Pronounced NAH-wahtl. Náhuatl is the most widely spoken Indigenous language in Mexico. It was the language spoken by the Aztecs. Today there are more than 1.5 million Náhuatl speakers, mostly in central Mexico. The Mexican Government recognizes 30 different varieties of Náhuatl.
Popocatépetl
Pronounced poh-poh-kah-TEH-petal. “El Popo” is one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes and is Mexico’s second highest peak. Popocatépetl means “smoking mountain” in Náhuatl.
Monarch migration
Every winter, millions of monarch butterflies fly from the United States and Canada to Mexico, where they hibernate in forests of sacred fir trees (also called Oyamel trees). The trees protect the butterflies from cold rain while keeping their bodies from drying out. Clustering helps the butterflies stay warm. Tens of thousands of monarchs can cluster on a single tree.
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