The Maya and Max series looks at life from the perspective of 10-year old twins Maya and Maxwell Miller. They are the only children of Marsha and Monty Miller. They are smart, resourceful, and inquisitive. Maya and Max’s best friends are next door neighbors Tyler and Samantha Peterson. Tyler is 11 and Sammie is 9. Tyler and the twins are in the 5th grade class at school. Sammie is in 4th grade, but she won’t be left behind in any of the kids’ adventures.

Maya and Max are tweens – children quickly becoming youth. As tweens, they encounter life issues with friends and family and the world around them. They have been nurtured in the Christian faith and attend a private Christian school. Neither of these shelters them from the realities of life. This series will find the twins meeting new kids much different than them, dealing with misunderstandings with friends, bullies at school, and challenges in growing up.

The series is about life issues, the joys and sorrows common to most of us. How will these two likable, ordinary kids handle the situations and people they encounter? Will their faith influence their reactions? Each book in this series is comprised of five chapters. Books are readable by later elementary students as well as enjoyable as a read-a-loud for younger elementary students.

Included in the back of each book are questions for reflection and discussion based on the themes presented. This encourages personal reflection and/or group discussion in a family or classroom setting making this a versatile read-a-loud or book club series. There will be eight books when the series is complete.

BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

Make New Friends

Back to school is exciting anytime, but somehow being in 5th grade has the twins believing they are some of the big kids now. Maya is becoming self-conscious and Max is also to a lesser extent. Mostly, he just wants the 5th grade boys to beat the 6th graders in soccer.A boy and his adopted sister with special needs are new to the 5th grade class. How will the students who have been together for years react to them? What will be the lessons learned for Maya and Max?

Trouble Between Friends tells the story of when Maya and Max had the responsibility of taking care of their best friends’ dog, Rac. Tyler and Sammie and Maya and Max had been friends as long as any of them could remember. It happened in the summer before school began. Would what happened ruin good friendships?

Faith and Action

Maya and Max and the students of St. James Academy work toward a goal of raising funds for the school. Maya gets inspired to make a suggestion about the funds raised.