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"A few months ago, Snow and I discovered that we were each planning to review different titles in the Max Esther: I should start by saying I don't use the science part of my brain very well. I was always okay with math. I excelled at literature, Language Arts, and History, but science - while interesting - was always more of a struggle for me. When my students come to the library to work on a science project and need my help, I'm always quick to point out that I'm there to help them find the information not explain it, because they really really don't want me to explain science to them! So I was really interested in seeing this series. I wanted to know if it could really help the scientifically challenged like me! And the answer... drum roll please... yes, it really does. Obviously, the ideas presented in this titles are topics that I've learned and possibly even mastered while I was in school. But I was in school a very long time ago. I see myself including these titles into my collection, and having students use the books to help them with ideas they're struggling with in class or I can see them using it to help them understand a topic for a project. The Max Axiom series is part of the Graphic Library collection from Capstone Press. They and other publishers that gear to the school market have created a number of similar type series with very similar product... I've always had issue with these series. For one, as a colleague once noted - they don't excel in art and they don't excel in story. I have to agree with this assessment and while there has been improvement in that area, I think the key factor that's missing here is heart. Take a nonfiction GN like the The United States Constitution: a Graphic Adaptation - the creators put their soul into the project (or at least part of their soul). I've seen great nonfiction GNs, but they're usually stand alone titles, like Amelia Earhart, or Satchell Paige (which is probably more of a historical fiction title.) These books feel like someone invested themselves in the project. I never got a sense of that from any of the 4 volumes of Max Axiom. Another issue I had with Max Axiom was that of late, as a reader and reviewer, I've been trying to concentrate more on how the art and text work together in a comic. I think it was something that was said at the GC4K panel at ALA that made tune into this more. I'm much more of a textual based person, and the art has always been secondary to me. Yet, in reality, this doesn't work with comics. In a solid comic, the art moves the text along. I never got that sense when reading Max Axiom. Rather, the series was just capitalizing on a popular format to entice kids to read and they could have used the standard illustrated book format. I still contend, they really do explain the science well in an accessible manner, but it's not the pictures that do most of the explaining it's the text. There isn't a balance between the art and text. Snow: I see what you mean about text and art not working well together. That's something I try to look for, but there are times when it bothers me more than others. For some reason, Max Axiom is not one of the series that gets to me. I know that they're just using the graphic novel format, but I've seen worse cases of cashing in (for example, the hideous adaptations of the Box Car Children books). For me there were enough moments in Max Axiom where the creators were obviously trying to keep from simply having static panels with text boxes above them. In The Surprising World of Bacteria there is a panel with a picture of a glacier. Rather than just showing an ice sheet, the ice is falling off, adding motion to the scene. A Crash Course in Forces and Motion tries hard to make sure that the physics principles are illustrated, not just mentioned. How do your students like the series? Do they find them useful? Do they think they are interesting to read? Does it feel to them like they are being pandered to by havi-- ""Good Comics for Kids Blog - School Library Journal"" A Crash Course in Forces and Motion with Max Axiom, by Emily Sohn (Capstone Press 2007), is a graphic novel for eight- to fourteen-year-olds. The character Max Axiom, Super Scientist, is at an amusement park. There he defines Newton's three laws of motion using roller coasters, skating, and bungee-jumping, among other activities to demonstrate his ideas. Everyday examples of things in motion are also described. Concepts are explicitly defined using clear and developmentally appropriate language. This book includes a glossary, Web sites, and suggestions for further reading. The graphic novel format may entice reluctant readers to engage in nonfiction text.-- ""Connect, Synergy Learning International, Inc."" 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"" Join Super Scientist Max Axiom in adventures covering various science concepts in kid-friendly ""graphic novel"" format. These books are sure to appeal to middle level kids and teachers with their easy-to-follow story lines and clear explanations of science concepts. Each book includes additional facts, a glossary, book and internet suggestions, and an index. Recommended.-- ""Pennsylvania School Librarians Association"" The novel graphic format utilized in the Max Axiom, Super Scientist series is attractive and engaging. The bright, colorful pictures will appeal to children and keep them reading about science. These books could be used effectively in or out of a school setting. Each book focuses on a single theme, but the subject is covered in a manner that cuts across scientific disciplines. The book on sound, for example, covers the physics of sound waves, the anatomy of the larynx and ear, echoes, sonar, and hearing loss. The flow from topic to topic is natural, and the books are cohesive. Capstone Press, the publisher, claims that the books are ""designed to help below-level readers access text."" The scientific terminology, which is reasonably extensive for this age level, is clearly defined. The glossary and index help. The books also include generally well-done detailed diagrams to clarify some of the more difficult topics. The only shortcoming of these titles is that some of the simplified explanations result in misleading or erroneous information. The book on electricity, for example, defines electrical charge as a form of energy and states that volts are a measure of force. Also, a reader might be confused by the idea that current is measured in amps, but ""electricity"" is measured in ""watts."" And a child is likely to come away from the book thinking that electrons move through wires at the speed of flight and are converted into energy in resistors. (The book doesn't actually say these things, but the explanations presented might easily lead to such misconceptions.) The books on forces and motion and on sound do not include the same degree of oversimplification. All of the books cite recommended readings and Internet sites for readers who wish to learn more. The publisher's materials indicate that quizzes are available to accompany the books. Overall, these books are useful, particularly for students who are highly visual, who find reading to be challenging, or who are not naturally curious about science.-- ""Science Books and Films"" 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"""

A few months ago, Snow and I discovered that we were each planning to review different titles in the Max Esther: I should start by saying I don't use the science part of my brain very well. I was always okay with math. I excelled at literature, Language Arts, and History, but science - while interesting - was always more of a struggle for me. When my students come to the library to work on a science project and need my help, I'm always quick to point out that I'm there to help them find the information not explain it, because they really really don't want me to explain science to them! So I was really interested in seeing this series. I wanted to know if it could really help the scientifically challenged like me! And the answer... drum roll please... yes, it really does. Obviously, the ideas presented in this titles are topics that I've learned and possibly even mastered while I was in school. But I was in school a very long time ago. I see myself including these titles into my collection, and having students use the books to help them with ideas they're struggling with in class or I can see them using it to help them understand a topic for a project. The Max Axiom series is part of the Graphic Library collection from Capstone Press. They and other publishers that gear to the school market have created a number of similar type series with very similar product... I've always had issue with these series. For one, as a colleague once noted - they don't excel in art and they don't excel in story. I have to agree with this assessment and while there has been improvement in that area, I think the key factor that's missing here is heart. Take a nonfiction GN like the The United States Constitution: a Graphic Adaptation - the creators put their soul into the project (or at least part of their soul). I've seen great nonfiction GNs, but they're usually stand alone titles, like Amelia Earhart, or Satchell Paige (which is probably more of a historical fiction title.) These books feel like someone invested themselves in the project. I never got a sense of that from any of the 4 volumes of Max Axiom. Another issue I had with Max Axiom was that of late, as a reader and reviewer, I've been trying to concentrate more on how the art and text work together in a comic. I think it was something that was said at the GC4K panel at ALA that made tune into this more. I'm much more of a textual based person, and the art has always been secondary to me. Yet, in reality, this doesn't work with comics. In a solid comic, the art moves the text along. I never got that sense when reading Max Axiom. Rather, the series was just capitalizing on a popular format to entice kids to read and they could have used the standard illustrated book format. I still contend, they really do explain the science well in an accessible manner, but it's not the pictures that do most of the explaining it's the text. There isn't a balance between the art and text. Snow: I see what you mean about text and art not working well together. That's something I try to look for, but there are times when it bothers me more than others. For some reason, Max Axiom is not one of the series that gets to me. I know that they're just using the graphic novel format, but I've seen worse cases of cashing in (for example, the hideous adaptations of the Box Car Children books). For me there were enough moments in Max Axiom where the creators were obviously trying to keep from simply having static panels with text boxes above them. In The Surprising World of Bacteria there is a panel with a picture of a glacier. Rather than just showing an ice sheet, the ice is falling off, adding motion to the scene. A Crash Course in Forces and Motion tries hard to make sure that the physics principles are illustrated, not just mentioned. How do your students like the series? Do they find them useful? Do they think they are interesting to read? Does it feel to them like they are being pandered to by havi-- Good Comics for Kids Blog - School Library Journal A Crash Course in Forces and Motion with Max Axiom, by Emily Sohn (Capstone Press 2007), is a graphic novel for eight- to fourteen-year-olds. The character Max Axiom, Super Scientist, is at an amusement park. There he defines Newton's three laws of motion using roller coasters, skating, and bungee-jumping, among other activities to demonstrate his ideas. Everyday examples of things in motion are also described. Concepts are explicitly defined using clear and developmentally appropriate language. This book includes a glossary, Web sites, and suggestions for further reading. The graphic novel format may entice reluctant readers to engage in nonfiction text.-- Connect, Synergy Learning International, Inc. 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 Join Super Scientist Max Axiom in adventures covering various science concepts in kid-friendly graphic novel format. These books are sure to appeal to middle level kids and teachers with their easy-to-follow story lines and clear explanations of science concepts. Each book includes additional facts, a glossary, book and internet suggestions, and an index. Recommended.-- Pennsylvania School Librarians Association The novel graphic format utilized in the Max Axiom, Super Scientist series is attractive and engaging. The bright, colorful pictures will appeal to children and keep them reading about science. These books could be used effectively in or out of a school setting. Each book focuses on a single theme, but the subject is covered in a manner that cuts across scientific disciplines. The book on sound, for example, covers the physics of sound waves, the anatomy of the larynx and ear, echoes, sonar, and hearing loss. The flow from topic to topic is natural, and the books are cohesive. Capstone Press, the publisher, claims that the books are designed to help below-level readers access text. The scientific terminology, which is reasonably extensive for this age level, is clearly defined. The glossary and index help. The books also include generally well-done detailed diagrams to clarify some of the more difficult topics. The only shortcoming of these titles is that some of the simplified explanations result in misleading or erroneous information. The book on electricity, for example, defines electrical charge as a form of energy and states that volts are a measure of force. Also, a reader might be confused by the idea that current is measured in amps, but electricity is measured in watts. And a child is likely to come away from the book thinking that electrons move through wires at the speed of flight and are converted into energy in resistors. (The book doesn't actually say these things, but the explanations presented might easily lead to such misconceptions.) The books on forces and motion and on sound do not include the same degree of oversimplification. All of the books cite recommended readings and Internet sites for readers who wish to learn more. The publisher's materials indicate that quizzes are available to accompany the books. Overall, these books are useful, particularly for students who are highly visual, who find reading to be challenging, or who are not naturally curious about science.-- Science Books and Films 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

Author Information

Emily Sohn is a freelance journalist in Minneapolis, who covers mostly health, science, environment and adventure for both kids and grown-ups. Among other publications, her work has appeared in U.S. News & World Report, the Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, Backpacker and Science News for Kids, and she is a contributing writer for Discovery News. Assignments have taken Emily to exotic locations around the globe, including Cuba, Fiji and the Peruvian Amazon. Steve originally hails from Oklahoma, and is a 2007 inductee into the Oklahoma Cartoonist Hall of Fame. He spent over a decade penciling comic books for DC Comics. Over the years, he's lent his artistic talents to a variety of other fields, ranging from t-shirt design to spot illustration to kids meal toys. He resides in north Texas where he makes a nice living as a product illustrator and designer for seasonal decorative items, occasionally dabbling in comics art and graphic novels. His wide range of experience falls in line with his personal philosophy as summed up by author Douglas Adams: I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.

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