Curriculum Choice blog
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/
Booklist Online
This volume in the Graphic Science series includes discussions of the discovery of the life-form, good and bad bacteria, and standard public health routines related to their containment and, when positive, use. The guide through all of this, Max Axiom, is described in between the final glossary and the index, so readers may want to head to the end pages first to get a clear sense of his persona. Brightly colored artwork and correct, if brief, information make this a good purchase to introduce some basic science concepts, or where the series is already established.
Science Books and Films
Super scientist Max Axiom will shrink himself down to microscopic size to show you the world of bacteria firsthand. The resulting journey is essentially an introduction to basic bacteriology and genetics in a comic book format appropriate for the junior high school level. The book touches briefly on the invention of the microscope and then moves quickly to describing the basic types of bacteria and how bacteria move and survive. It also covers basic genetics and immunology terminology, including the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, bacterial reproduction, and resistance to antibiotics. Finally, it discusses a variety of both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria and the prevalence of bacteria in all environments on Earth. Overall, the illustrations are compelling and the scientifically accurate lessons are easy to follow. The text itself, however, is quite dry and doesn’t take full advantage of the comic art to captivate students. Despite this shortcoming, the book may still be a welcome relief from more traditional textbooks in learning key terminology.
Examiner.com
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
