PRIMARY school children were to a musical treat as they learnt how to survive in the wild.

Mayan myths and rock n’ roll came to Cheriton Primary School on March 10.

Author-illustrators of the exciting Jaguar Stones books, Pamela and Jon Voelkel, were in the UK on a promotional book tour sharing tales of kings and queens who once ruled the jungles in Mesoamerica.

Their books tell the story of a city boy and a jungle girl working together to unlock ancient secrets and delve into the Maya Underworld.

To research the Jaguar Stones, the authors and their three adventure-loving children explored over forty Maya sites in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico; canoed down underground rivers; tracked howler monkeys in the jungle; and learned to make tortillas on an open fire.

From the outset of their presentation, the young audience was captivated by lessons on how to survive in the wild, the school reverberated with the sounds of children calling to howler monkeys and an atmospheric Rainforest environment was created - thanks to some carefully projected water-bottle spraying!

Although it was too early for the children to have snacks, they were able to enjoy seeing some of the teachers taste-test fried mealworms, and a school spokesperson said: “No teachers were harmed in the process!.

The interactive, roller-coaster presentation continued with paper darts being fired from blow pipes at the Mayan death god target of Ah Pukuh before the whole show closed with a rock concert starring twelve willing and eager inflatable-guitar players.

The children of Cheriton and Ropley schools left the “arena” chatting enthusiastically about what they had learnt, replaying some of the monkey sounds and keen to learn more about the Maya and Rainforest survival.

“Now that is music to any teacher’s ears,” the spokesperson added.