The Powerful World of Energy with Max Axiom, Super Scientist

by Agnieszka Biskup, Cynthia Martin (Illustrator), Anne Timmons (Illustrator)

Overview

Discover the world of ENERGY in the action-packed graphic novel! Follow along with Max Axiom, Super Scientist, as he zooms through lessons in kinetic and potential energy, sources of energy, and more! Through comic-book style art, this Super Scientist transforms science topics, like physics and Earth sciences, into superpowered adventures — a compelling mixture for young scientists and comic book fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781429634502
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Series:	Graphic Science Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,042,175
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

Agnieszka Biskup is a writer and editor based in Chicago. She is a former science editor at the Boston Globe as well as a Knight Fellow at MIT, where she studied science journalism. She served as managing editor of the children's magazine Muse and has written numerous children’s books in addition to many articles for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Her books have received awards from Learning magazine, the Association of Educational Publishers, the Society of School Librarians International, and have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. She is also a winner of the 2015 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award in the Writing for Children category.

Table of Contents

What is energy? — Types of energy — Sources of energy — Saving energy.

Editorial Reviews

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/

Curriculum Choice 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

Examiner.com

The world of physics comes to life in this highly enjoyable graphic novel. Written with a middle school audience in mind, it could probably also be used to give high school students a good refresher course in the basic laws of energy. As Super Scientist Max Atom cruises through the city, he reveals real-life examples of energy in the real world—from the kinetic energy kids use to play basketball to the sound energy in thunder to the heat energy in coffee. With each example, Max uses his superpowers to show readers aspects of energy that aren’t apparent to most humans—from the electrons that cause electrical energy to the atoms and molecules that create sound energy. Later sections allow Max to define the law of conservation of energy by showing how one form of energy can change to another but not be destroyed. Still later sections reveal how humans have managed to store and generate energy through solar, wind, and hydro power—while also pointing out the long-term dangers of using fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as the problems caused by the use of nuclear power. The latest in a line of “Graphic Science” graphic novels published by Capstone Press, this book provides a fun way to supplement and review science lessons. 2009

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