Liam O'Donnell was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in Canada. He's lived in Toronto, Canada and is the author of several graphic novels, including the Max Finder Mystery series of you-solve-it comics. He's never met a pirate and not sure if he ever wants to. When he's not writing stories, he loves playing video games and going camping, but not at the same time. Cynthia Martin has worked in comics and animation since 1983. Her credits include Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, in addition to work as a storyboard artist for Sony Children's Entertainment and the Krislin Company. Cynthia's recent projects include an extensive series of graphic novels for Capstone Press and two issues of Blue Beetle for DC Comics. She also illustrated the book Alley of Shadows, published by Stone Arch Books.
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.)-- "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"
Max Axiom is a scientist with superpowers. He uses these powers to
travel the world, learn as much about science as possible, and then
share that knowledge with others. The book joins Max at an open-air
market as he eats an apple for quick energy before a bicycle ride.
He explains that all food contains energy, and thus begins a
description of energy flow through the food chain. The presentation
is rather simple, with a bit of text in a comic-book-style format,
but is still effective at explaining the basic components of a food
chain and how they are related. There is a logical progression
through the four sections of the book ("Connecting Our World,"
"Producers and Consumers," "Webs and Pyramids," and "Human Impact")
and a useful glossary at the back. The last chapter makes
suggestions for lessening the human impact on the food chain, while
emphasizing our part in it. There is a definite bias in this
section against chemical agriculture, which would have been best
tempered with at least some recognition that not all use of
chemicals in food production is bad. Still, I don't think that this
bias affects the overall quality of the presentation. The book is
probably most appropriate for middle schoolers. Recommened, One
Star.-- "Science Books and Films"
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