REVIEW Capstone Press has created its own brand of superhero – Max Axiom, Super Scientist – whose exploits uncover the mysteries of the scientific world. Max Axiom, who sports a bald head and cool glasses, dives into many adventures in the series, exploring such concepts as sound, energy, ecosystems, and others. With INVESTIGATING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD WITH MAX AXIOM, the reader goes through the steps of the process of scientific discovery in a very meaningful way. The story doesn't skimp on explanations and the writer (Donald B. Lemke) and illustrators (Tod Smith and Al Migrom) use the graphics inherent in this form to its advantages, showing detailed illustrations that reinforce the story and explanations. Since I am not a science teacher, I passed on INVESTIGATING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD WITH MAX AXIOM to my sixth grade teaching colleague, Lisa Rice, and I asked for her impressions. (A side note: it is heartening to see that Max Axiom is a scientist of color as it breaks down the stereotypes of white, geeky nerd scientists tinkering around with chemicals in the lab. Max is not only cool, but he is smart, intuitive and light on his feet). Here is my podcast interview with Lisa in which she talks about her impressions of the book and also the possibilities for the classroom: PODCAST: http://www.box.net/shared/static/yal9b0xf7o.mp3 MORE INFORMATION • Reading level: Ages 9-12 • Format: Paperback • Pages: 32 • Publisher: Capstone Press • ISBN-10: 1429617608 • ISBN-13: 978-1429617604 This title is also available in an interactive CD format (motion comic). You can click here to read our story of that format. MY RECOMMENDATION I would highly recommend this book for the middle school classroom. It is informative and lively and engages students on a variety of levels.
The Graphic Classroom Blog
There are lots of engaging resources available for teaching science to young kids, but one of the best is strangely little known: a terrific and highly entertaining series of science-themed graphic novels from Capstone Press, featuring a super scientist by the name of Max Axiom. Max Axiom, the story goes, was hiking one day when he was struck by megacharged lightning. The accident gave him the ability to shrink to the size of the atom, while his magic lab coat enables him to travel through space and time. These super powers mean that when he is, for instance, investigating viruses, he can stand on a human knee and watch as a scrape becomes infected. He can travel down inside a plant to show the role of chloroplasts in photosynthesis. Each book in the series features an adventure focused on one science theme, such as Cell Life, Chemical Reactions, or Electricity. Information is presented clearly and engagingly, and each book also features a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and pre-screened internet links. There are more than 15 books in the series altogether. Unfortunately, the Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library each only carry one of these well-designed books, but you can purchase four for the price of three on Amazon. http://www.examiner.com/homeschooling-in-new-york/max-axiom-graphic-novels-make-learning-science-fun
I’m in love – or, better yet, my son is in love! We’ve had the opportunity to review graphic science books on all sorts of topics that are fun and easy to read. Comic book style science sounds really fluffy doesn’t it? Believe it or not, the Max Axiom series is full of “real” science that goes deep enough to be appropriate for any upper elementary/early middle school child. My son is a less-than-zealous textbook reader. (Picture eyes glazing over and giant yawns.) After reading – or being read to – from a textbook, he recalls very little of the information. Over the years, I’ve turned science into hands-on unit studies and supplemented with lots of library books, which has worked quite well. During one of these unit study times, I came across Max Axiom and wanted to know more. I found that Capstone Press offers many, many Max Axiom books, and boy were my son and I excited! Twenty-four books total cover the areas of biology/botany, chemistry, physical and earth science. In each book, Max Axiom (a scientist with super powers), goes on an adventure to learn all about the topic at hand. He can shrink to the size of bacteria and whiz through the human body, or go back in time to learn more about a famous scientist of the past. All of this in a 32 page comic book! (When I say comic book, don’t think of flimsy pages, these are “real” books.) http://thecurriculumchoice.com/2011/07/max-axiom-graphic-science-books/
The graphic book format is a favorite of mine for learning! Such books are perfect for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish books on their own. It is also a wonderful way to introduce nonfiction books to young people. Young adults who want to read anything they can get their hands on will enjoy the graphic images and fast-paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous impact on the story. The author includes a narrative box on most pages to give the reader extra information to help with comprehension. The vocabulary has been well-selected, and this book is an excellent resource that could be used for writing a summary, writing a book report, or conducting research. At the start of the story, Max Axiom receives message telling him that flood season is just around the corner and the mayor want to know what materials are best for building levees. Young adults will learn how Max finds the answer, as well as the best way to solve other scientific questions. here are four chapters in just 27 pages, and all major facts are well covered. At the end of the book, the author includes two pages of additional interesting facts. This book includes a glossary, a “Read More” section, a list of recommended Internet sites, and an index. I highly recommend this book for children who want to start their own personal libraries, for classroom and school libraries, and for anyone who wants to entice a reluctant reader.
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Max Axiom™: Super Scientist Maxwell J. Axiom is no ordinary superhero. He is no other than the super scientist! If you had any doubt about science being super, he’s here to quench that doubt. Born to a marine biologist mother and nuclear physicist/park ranger father in Seattle, USA, he’s got black skin, brown eyes and no hair. He is the scientific version of Shaft, swift, dynamic, cool. His super-powers come from a lightning that struck him one day on a wilderness hike: it gave him a newfound energy and motivated him to travel the globe and earn degrees in every aspect of science. Equipped with this enormous knowledge that he was ready to share, he assumed a new identity: Max Axiom, Super Scientist. His superpowers include super-intelligence, ability to shrink to a size of an atom, time travel and X-ray vision. So apart from breaking a few laws of physics in the start there, he does make up for it by using all of his powers to explain the science to the readers. Scientific Method What is so special about science; why do we often put it before other kinds of knowledge? Some would argue it is the scientific method that gives science its prestige and claim to objectivity. But in order to decide if this is true or not one needs to understand what this method is. Perhaps more importantly for would-be scientists is to see how the scientists go about their daily work: what is it that they do when they practice science? Philosophers and sociologists have argued for decades about this, but Max explains the crux of it in this exciting episode that sees Max’s city threatened by flooding from a nearby river. The best way to decide on how to stop the river is to follow the scientific method to design the best possible levee to prevent the river from overflowing. Forming hypotheses and testing them, making scaled down models all feature in this episode.
Imperial College London student newspaper Felix
Max Axiom is a supercool superhero scientist who can travel through time, shrink to atom-size, and slip on sunglasses that give him x-ray vision. All these talents let him present detailed views of science in a solid and engaging way. Sidebars and backmatter provide a glossary, interesting facts, cameos of famous people, bibliography, and links to websites. Dozens of Max Axiom books cover topics from magnetism to earthquakes, genes to the digestive system. In this one, which won Learning Magazine’s 2008 Teachers’ Choice Award for Children’s Books, Max shows readers how he solves four scientific problems, starting with choosing the best materials for building levees against flood waters. Some of the titles are available in Spanish.
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