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.
Reason for Reading: I am a huge fan of Capstone books which
publishes "worry-free" content, easy reader graphic novels and
chapter books with graded reading levels. My reading challenged son
has used their books to improve his reading skills and has enjoyed
almost all the books, even on the small occasions when I don't. The
Dynamic World of Chemical Reactions by Agnieszka Biskup.
Illustrated by Cynthia Martin & Barbara Schulz. 32 pages. Ages 8+.
Aug. 1, 2010. This is a non-fiction graphic title with no pretense
at a story or plot. Scientist Max Axiom, who has super powers,
welcomes us to his lab and starts telling us about chemical
reactions. I've only had one year of chemistry myself and found the
information to be quite detailed at that level. It is presented in
a fun and thorough way through text and graphics. Max stays in his
lab for the most part, but he also takes us over to a chemist
friend of his for more information and then he jumps around town to
show chemical reactions at work in real life. Max has several super
abilities but we only see two of these in action in this book, his
lab coat allows his to travel through time and space, here he
travels around space, and he has the ability to shrink down to
microscopic size. There are fact boxes every now and then telling
more information on a certain topic, a page at the end that lists
various information about the topic and the book has an index. An
enjoyable and interesting concept for a hi-low reader that imparts
a nice dose of science. The book will be most appreciated for use
in the classroom or for readers who already have an interest in the
subject matter. Reading Level Gr. 3-4. Interest Level Gr. 3-9.
Rating: 3/5 The Whirlwind World of Hurricanes by Katherine Krohn.
Illustrated by Cynthia Martin & Al Milgrom. 32 pages. Ages 8+. Aug.
1, 2010. This is a pure non-fiction graphic title. We enter Super
Scientist, Max Axiom's lab where he proceeds to tell us about
hurricanes. Though Max does have several super abilities such as
x-ray vision and shrinking to the size of atoms, he does not use
any of these abilities in this volume except that he can travel
from one place to another very quickly and travel into the past.
Which he does, as he takes the reader all over to special science
and weather stations that study and predict hurricanes. Plus taking
us back to see some of the US's worst hurricanes from one in
Galveston Texas, 1900 to Katrina in 2005. There are fact boxes
every now and then telling more information on a specific topic, a
page at the end that lists various information about the topic and
the book has an index. An enjoyable and interesting concept for a
hi-low reader that imparts a nice dose of science. The book will be
most appreciated for use in the classroom or for readers who
already have an interest in the subject matter. Reading Level Gr.
3-4. Interest Level Gr. 3-9. Rating: 3/5 http:
//back-to-books.blogspot.com/2011/02/max-axiom-super-scientist-graphic.html--
"Back to Books 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/--
"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"
Ask a Question About this Product More... |