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
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. Volcanoes In another one of episodes packed with time and space travel, Max starts of on the slopes of a volcano in Costa Rica dressed in some high-tech volcanologist suit; then he flies to a research vessel somewhere on the Pacific to take a ‘mini-sub’ to the seabed to show us underwater volcanoes forming new islands. He travels back in time to see the eruptions and the after-effects in Washington in 1980, Martinique in 1902 and Pompeii in AD 79, so apart from some learning about the tectonic plates, volcanoes and the composition of the Earth, we also get a bit of history.
Imperial College London student newspaper Felix
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/
Recommended by Booklist in the "Series Roundup" section.
Books written in graphic format are favorites of mine! It makes it perfect for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish a book 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 graphics, exhilarating stories, and fast paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous impact on the story. The author includes a box on most pages that includes narration that gives extra information to the reader to help with comprehension. Vocabulary has been well selected, and this book is an excellent resource that could be used for writing a summary, a book report, or as a source for research. What better way to guide readers through the book than using a scientific super hero called Max Axiom. In a matter of seconds, he can change from a 6’1” man to the size of an atom with sunglasses that give him x-ray vision and a special lab coat that permits him to travel through time and space. Except for the super-hero, this is a nonfiction book that gives excellent information about volcanoes. There 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 more interesting information. In addition, there is a Glossary, Read More Section, Internet Sites, Bibliography, and Index. I highly recommend this book for children who want to start their own personal libraries, for classroom and school libraries, and for enticing the reluctant reader.
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